A new option to replace the damaged Aortic valve through non-operative procedure has come as a boon for patients who are old or are unfit to undergo surgery. TAVI (Trans catheter aortic valve implant), is the  new technique to implant an artificial valve by a catheter instead of surgery. It was performed in a Delhi hospital on three people above 70 years of age, with damaged aortic heart valve, who were declared inoperable because of their age and underlying medical conditions such as lung or kidney problem, previous heart surgery etc.

The conventional valve replacement surgery is a major surgery where the heart is exposed by cutting open the chest, but in this procedure, the artificial valve is mounted on a 6mm thin catheter and inserted thorough the femoral artery with a puncture in the groin. The catheter then travels all the way to aortic valve which is first dilated by ballooning, and delivers the stent and valve which then expand and fit in place. It’s more like an angioplasty that is performed in the cath lab under general anaesthesia.  The procedure takes about two hours and the person can go home by the fourth day.

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