TAVR/TAVI will likely become more common than open-heart surgery in treatment of aortic valve disease, said John Webb, M.D., St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Webb is considered a pioneer in the development of TAVI having performed or supervised more than 1,500 of the procedures worldwide.
Webb’s comments, published in an issue of the
European Hospital, also honed in on the importance of a “heart team” in assessing potential TAVR candidates.
In the U.S. Medicare requires TAVR procedures to be performed by two doctors – for example a thoracic surgeon and a cardiologist. Webb calls this an “artificial” approach to enforcing a heart team mentality.
“The main principle to a heart team is that the patient is evaluated by a group with different skills and knowledge. There should be a discussion about which form of valve replacement is better with an evaluation and a discussion of the alternatives available. But the idea of a heart team does not necessarily mean they all need to be in the room doing the chosen procedure,” he said.