Structural Heart
McLaren Flint maintains a high-volume structural heart program that includes TAVR, Watchman and A-fib procedures.
TAVR
According to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) TVT Registry, volumes for TAVR have increased every year since its approval in 2011. In 2019, TAVR exceeded all forms of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for the first time. This coincides with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of TAVR for low-risk patients. The median length of stay for patients has declined from seven days to two days for all patients over the course of the report. For patients assessed as low-risk, the median length of stay in 2019 was only one day (an overnight hospital stay).
WATCHMAN
The WATCHMAN device is an advanced, minimally invasive procedure for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are at high risk for stroke but are no longer able to take a long-term anticoagulant (due to prior bleeding on anticoagulation or inability to regulate warfarin levels). Current data shows the implant reduces the risk of debilitating and fatal strokes by 55 percent, and major bleeding six months post-implant by 72 percent.
Mitral Valve Repair & Replacement
McLaren Flint offers traditional, robotic-assisted and transcatheter minimally invasive mitral valve repair procedures.
- Valve repair - which preserves the patient's valve and leaflets. Sometimes repairs require a minimal surgery procedure and other times repairs need a more extensive surgery. Repair is most often possible for mitral valve regurgitation and tricuspid valve regurgitation.
- Transcatheter Mitral Valve repair. This procedure uses an implant that goes onto the center of the mitral valve. This is a minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter mitral valve repair. This reduces the mitral regurgitation and allows the valve to continue to open and close, allowing blood to flow. The procedure takes 1-2 hours with an average of a one-night stay at the hospital.
- Valve replacement - which may include transcatheter aortic valve implantation or replacement (TAVR or TAVI), or other minimally invasive procedure. In many cases, the best long-term solution may require a more involved surgery such as the Ross procedure or the insertion of a new tissue or manufactured valve. Treatment with medications, including diuretics, may be recommended.
Atrial Fibrillation (AF, A-Fib)
There are a variety of options for treating AF, and are based on the diagnosis and needs of each patient individually. Treatment options at McLaren Flint include:
Medications to control heart rhythm, heart rate and blood clotting
- Device implants such as pacemakers
- Catheter ablation by our electrophysiologists
- Surgical ablation, including newer minimally-invasive procedures