Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026
Upper-extremity Approach for Secondary Access in Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
Published on: August 8, 2025
Establishment of a transcatheter aortic valve program and heart valve team at a Veterans Affairs facility
Faisal G Bakaeen1, Biswajit Kar, Danny Chu
1Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. fbakaeen@bcm.edu
Background:
The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved a transcatheter aortic valve for patients for whom open heart surgery is prohibitively risky.
Methods:
A multidisciplinary heart valve team partnered with administration to launch a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program. Clinical registries were used to show robust valve caseloads and outcomes at our Veterans Affairs (VA) facility and to project future volumes. A TAVR business plan was approved by the VA leadership as part of a multiphase project to upgrade and expand our surgical facilities.
Results:
The heart valve team completed a training program that included simulations and visits to established TAVR centers. Patients were evaluated and screened through a streamlined process, and the program was initiated successfully.
Conclusions:
Establishing a TAVR program at a VA facility requires a multidisciplinary team with experience in heart valve and endovascular therapies and a supportive administration willing to invest in a sophisticated infrastructure.
