Medica Group of Hospitals organized a panel discussion on ‘Transcatheter Valve Replacement’ at Hotel Peerless Inn in Kolkata.

The intention was to inform the general public and the community about the advantages of simple heart catheters used in the Cath Lab by Interventional Cardiologists over complex cardiac surgery performed in the Surgical Operation Theatre under prolonged general anesthesia and ventilation for valve replacement. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR, is the common name for aortic valve replacement performed via a cardiac catheter. Over the past three and a half years, Medica has carried out more than 20 of these surgeries, and the number is steadily increasing.

Prof. Dr. Rabin Chakraborty, Senior Vice-Chairman & Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, Dr. Dilip Kumar, Director of Cardiac Cath Lab – Senior Consultant Intervention Cardiologist & Electrophysiologist, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, and Dr. Anup Banerjee, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Medica Superspecialty Hospital were among those who attended the panel discussion.

More than 120,000 patients have had TAVR procedures globally, in 50 different countries. TAVR techniques are already well established. Throughout the past ten years, 5000 surgeries have been performed in India. Most TAVR procedures have been performed in Eastern India at the Medica Superspecialty Hospital by a skilled and knowledgeable team of interventional cardiologists under the direction of Prof. Dr. Rabin Chakraborty, Head of the department, and Dr. Dilip Kumar, Director of the cath lab. It is crucial to realize that a specialist medical group known as “HEART TEAM” always performs worldwide transcatheter valve replacements. Together with technicians and skilled nursing staff, this team includes senior interventional cardiologists, cardiac anesthetists, non-invasive cardiologists, and clinical cardiologists.

The one-hour workshop led participants through clinically relevant material such as advanced TAVR management supported by successful case studies and the status of TAVR in India today as well as its success rate.

Prof. Dr. Rabin Chakraborty, Senior Vice-Chairman & Senior Interventional Cardiologist, at Medica Superspecialty Hospital, stated that TAVR is a quicker medical technique than surgical aortic valve replacement. Transcatheter valve replacement was introduced in India in 2016 and has since grown in popularity. In the past three and a half years, Medica has successfully completed more than 20 transcatheter valve replacement procedures, which is the most in Eastern India.  The TAVR technique is the favored choice due to its quicker pace of patient recovery, lower risk of infection, and cost-effectiveness. Preferably, it is carried out on individuals who are older than 60.

Priyanka Dutta