Southeast Health hit a milestone recently with the 250th successful Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure, which is exclusively offered in Dothan at the Medical Center.

Peter M. Rao, MD, Cardiologist and Joseph E. Graham, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgeon performed the historical procedure Thursday, February 9 in the Cath Lab. The first TAVR was successfully performed in 2017 as part of our commitment to establish an advanced structural heart program.

The TAVR team includes Cardiologists Dr. Rao and Andreas Muench, MD, along with Cardiothoracic Surgeons Steven F. Johnson, MD, Adam Eppler, MD, and Dr. Graham. The Structural Heart Program coordinator is Aubree C. McKnight, MSN, CRNP.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure for patients who are high risk for traditional valve replacement surgery. An interventional cardiologist and a cardiothoracic surgeon work together with a multidisciplinary team to perform the TAVR procedure. TAVR is a catheterization procedure inserting an artificial aortic valve in the existing one that may not open properly due to stenosis, which restricts blood flow.

TAVR offers shorter recovery time, less pain, reduced length of stay in the hospital, potential life-saving option for high-risk patients and improved quality of life.

For more information about TAVR, visit southeasthealth.org or call the Structural Heart Clinic at 334-944-4278 (HART). The TAVR program was made possible in part by more than $200,000 in generous donations from the Southeast Health Foundation. If you would like to donate to the TAVR and Structural Heart Clinic or for more information, contact the Foundation at 334-673-4150