Structural Heart Disease Program
Until recently, physicians were only able to replace heart valves through open heart surgery. Patients who were not candidates because of age, illness or other factors had few options. That’s why the Prairie Heart Institute developed the Structural Heart Disease (SHD) Program. Prairie’s SHD team gives patients hope through groundbreaking alternatives to open-heart surgery. TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) is available to those patients who are considered at high risk for traditional surgical aortic valve replacement.
Governor Jim Edgar talks about the experts at Prairie
"Because of the operation of TAVR, I have my strength back." - Georgeanna Kerbach
"I feel like a different person. I can breathe again." - Bernadine Wiedler
The Structural Heart Disease Program at the Prairie Heart Institute is a national leader in both surgical and transcatheter valve replacement and repair. In addition to the TAVR procedure, the SHD team specializes in minimally invasive valve surgery. Minimally invasive surgery involves the use of an incision smaller than 2 inches. Patients may have less pain and a shorter recovery period after minimally invasive valve surgery. Other advanced structural heart procedures available at PHI include MitraClip, percutaneous aortic and mitral valvuloplasty, and catheter-based and minimally invasive repair of atrial and ventricular wall defects.