HCA Kingwood becomes 1st northeast Houston hospital to offer open-heart surgery alternative – Chron

By Savannah Mehrtens, Staff writer

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood is the first northeast Houston hospital to successfully complete a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery.

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood is the first northeast Houston hospital to successfully complete a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery.

Photo: Courtesy / Courtesy

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood is the first northeast Houston hospital to successfully complete a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery.

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood is the first northeast Houston hospital to successfully complete a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery.

HCA Kingwood becomes 1st northeast Houston hospital to offer open-heart surgery alternative

HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood is the first northeast Houston hospital to successfully complete a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery, the system announced this month.

The hospital has completed multiple transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures, the alternative to open-heart surgery. This will be beneficial to those who struggle or may find it nearly impossible to recover from open-heart surgery, especially the elderly or frail patients, HCA officials said. According to a press release from the hospital, TAVR replaces the aortic valve through a catheter by groin access whereas open-heart surgery opens the chest to expose the heart.

This option has been provided in the Texas Medical Center, but bringing it to northeast Houston provides greater access to patients in the Kingwood area.

The typical candidates for the TAVR option suffer from aortic stenosis, which is a common but serious problem in which the aortic valve opening narrows which restricts blood flow and causes pressure to build up in the lungs. The surgery combines aspects of cardiology and surgery according to Robert Salazar, MD, structural cardiologist on staff at HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood.

TAVR is a team effort. Its an amazing technology and a huge win for patient care, said Dr. Rick Ganim, cardiac cath lab medical director at HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood, in the press release. Historically, this procedure has been offered only in the Texas Medical Center to be the first facility to bring it to northeast Houston is very significant.

TAVR was approved by the FDA in 2012 for those who were at high risk with open-heart surgery and was approved in 2016 for those with intermediate-risk. Recently it was approved for low-risk patients, which will allow an increase in the number of patients who qualify for the procedure, according to the press release.

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The FDA requires hospitals to successfully complete a certain number of open heart, surgical aortic valve, catheter, and percutaneous coronary interventions per year to be able to practice TAVR. HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood performs thousands of heart procedures annually, according to the press release.

Dr. Khaled Imad Khalaf, Chief Elect of Cardiology who trained at a high-performing TAVR center and continued to perform TAVR there years after his training along with Dr. John Davis, III, structural cardiologist and cardiovascular surgeon, performed the first two TAVR procedures in November at HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood according to the press release.

Davis said the procedures were a success and both patients were released the next day.

The concept of having a heart valve replaced in the morning without general anesthesia or intubation and being able to walk around and have dinner that same evening, with our standard protocol next-day discharge, makes this procedure a phenomenal breakthrough in technology, Khalaf said in the press release. ... I am very pleased and excited to offer this procedure at HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood to serve our patients of northeast Houston closer to home.

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savannah.mehrtens@chron.com

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HCA Kingwood becomes 1st northeast Houston hospital to offer open-heart surgery alternative - Chron