Physicians, nurses and patients got a rare opportunity to reconvene post-procedure at CHI Memorial's Tuesday evening reunion of patients who received transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR).
In the busy world of health care, it's not often that providers get to see the outcome of their work, Mary Ann Hickman, a heart valve program nurse navigator at Memorial, said during her speech to a room full of former TAVR patients and their families.
Robbie de Villiers bows his head in prayer during a transcatheter aortic valve replacement reunion at the Guerry Heart and Vascular Center in CHI Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The TAVR is a first of its kind procedure."My heart feels like it's exploding tonight, because I just get to see the patients that were touched at Memorial," Hickman said. "We're here to celebrate life."
In 2011, Memorial's Chattanooga Heart Institute was one of 24 locations in the nation selected to perform the first-of-its-kind procedure. Today, the hospital has performed nearly 300 procedures on patients ranging from age 32 to 97.
TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a failing aortic heart valve using a catheter inserted through the groin. Previously, open heart surgery was the only option for valve replacement, but patients who were too sick for such a serious surgery were out of luck. If the problem isn't fixed, it causes chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath and can lead to heart failure or death.
Speaking at the reunion, Dr. Brian Negus, an interventional cardiologist who performs the procedure, recalled the first time he saw a TAVR procedure at a conference in France.
"The procedure was unbelievably long, complicated and extremely challenging. Me and the rest of the audience were completely astonished," Negus said. "Now, we're able to treat patients routinely right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee."
Dr. William Oellerich, a cardiologist on the TAVR team, said that when the procedure was introduced, it was a completely new way of dealing with people who have an abnormal heart valve.
"There's some things that we have in medicine that are evolutionary. This was truly revolutionary. There is no question about it," Oellerich said.
Dr. William Oellerich mingles with patients during a transcatheter aortic valve replacement reunion at the Guerry Heart and Vascular Center in CHI Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The TAVR is a first of its kind procedure.Robbie de Villiers, a 69-year-old graphic designer and avid swimmer, received a TAVR at Memorial about two months ago after years of heart trouble caught up with him. But because he'd had a quadruple bypass in the past, he was dreading the process.
"The recovery time with the open heart surgery is a pain in the neck," de Villiers said. "With this, you don't actually feel anything, because the procedure was done, and you just have a hole in your leg. It's not a big deal."
He attended the reunion on Tuesday to recognize the team that helped him and meet other people who have gone through the process. Since the procedure, he's gone from only swimming about four continuous laps to swimming a mile, or 72 laps, nonstop.
"More than anything else, I want to sing their praises, because it's an awesome thing," de Villiers said. "I'd love to have more people understand the benefit of this procedure."
Contact staff writer Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.