The first Lotus Edge TAVR Valve in Pinellas County was successfully implanted at Northside Hospital on July 29, 2020. The Northside Hospital Structural Heart and Valve Team now has another valve choice in their tool box to accommodate each patient’s unique anatomy. The team has been performing Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for nearly five years. The procedure is designed to replace a patient’s diseased aortic valve without traditional open-heart surgery, using a first-of-its-kind artificial heart valve. Patients with severe aortic stenosis most likely require procedural intervention. Aortic Stenosis is the narrowing of a heart valve which leads to decreased blood flow, increased work load on the heart, and can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart failure.

There are many possible benefits of this procedure for patients including: improved heart valve function, less or no more shortness of breath and chest pain, less anxiety related to aortic valve disease, better quality of life, and faster recovery compared to open heart surgery.  There are two other commercial TAVR options in the United States, which Northside Hospital also utilizes. The Lotus Edge valve helps reduce any leakage around the heart valve in order to obtain a perfect seal, comparable to the result a surgeon would achieve doing open heart surgery. 

“The teamwork between our cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and echocardiography physicians and staff have led us to successfully treat another patient with Aortic Stenosis and heart valve disease,” said Christopher Kwon, MD Cardiothoracic Surgeon Northside Hospital. “Northside Hospital now has multiple options for different valve choices allowing the team to tailor patient care to the unique needs of each patient’s anatomy.”

“Northside Hospital continues to be at the forefront of technology by adding the Lotus Edge TAVR Valve system to our structural heart program”, said Valerie Powell-Stafford, CEO Northside Hospital. “This is another example of the continued commitment of our caregivers and physicians in providing the highest level of quality and safety to our patients we are privileged to serve.”

For more information, call the Northside Hospital Structural Heart
and Valve Clinic 727-528-5916.