Chonnam National University Hospital, First Regional Hospital to Surpass 200 Cases of 'Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement'

Professor Kim Juhan's Cardiovascular Medicine Team Breaks 100 Cases, Two Years Later

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam National University Hospital (Director Ahn Young-geun) has surpassed 200 cases of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI), becoming the first regional hospital to do so.

According to Jeonnam National University Hospital on the 24th, Professor Kim Juhan's cardiology team successfully performed TAVI on a patient with aortic valve stenosis on the 21st.

With this procedure, the cardiology department at Jeonnam National University Hospital, which first performed TAVI at a regional hospital in 2015 and surpassed 100 cases in November 2019, has now reached 200 cases in 2 years and 4 months.

Aortic valve stenosis is a condition where the aortic valve, which prevents blood from flowing back into the left ventricle, narrows, causing obstruction in the process of blood moving from the heart to the rest of the body.

If untreated, this disease can cause serious complications such as sudden death along with symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, and fainting.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a procedure that approaches through the femoral artery without opening the chest, delivering a new valve to the diseased aortic valve and mechanically pushing out the damaged valve to replace it.

TAVI takes about 1 to 2 hours, does not require general anesthesia unlike surgery, causes less pain to the patient, and allows normal activity within a few days.

In the past, elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis were treated with surgical methods involving chest incision, but recently most cases are performed with TAVI, which inserts an artificial valve through the femoral artery.

If access through the femoral artery is difficult due to narrowing, the procedure may be performed via the subclavian artery. Initially, TAVI was mainly performed on high-risk surgical patients, but its indications are gradually expanding.

Professor Kim Juhan said, “Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation is a highly complex procedure that can only be performed at hospitals with cardiovascular specialists who have extensive experience in cardiac interventions. It is the first time such a large number of procedures have been recorded outside the metropolitan area, and we will continue to strive to reduce the inconvenience and economic burden for regional patients with aortic valve stenosis who otherwise would have to seek treatment in the metropolitan area.”

Meanwhile, the cardiovascular intervention team of the cardiology department at Jeonnam National University Hospital (Professors Jung Myungho, Ahn Young-geun, Kim Juhan, Hong Youngjun, Shim Dooseon, Kim Mincheol, Jo Kyunghoon, Lee Seunghun, Hyun Daeyong, and Ahn Junho) treats the largest number of myocardial infarction patients nationwide and continues to hold the record for the highest number of cardiovascular intervention procedures and the most published papers in the Korean Circulation Society for 19 consecutive years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.