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Nov. 18, 2014

Andy C. Kiser, M.D., chief of the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, spoke at the recent meeting of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) on a suprasternal direct approach TAVR procedure that he developed. TAVR is transcatheter aortic valve replacement, a less invasive procedure for valve replacement that is aimed at people who are too frail to undergo traditional aortic valve surgery.

The EACTS meeting was Oct. 11-15, 2014, in Milan, Italy.

The Suprasternal Aortic Access System (SuprAA System, Aegis Surgical Ltd, Dublin, Ireland) is a new minimally invasive approach for replacing the aortic valves of high-risk patients with aortic stenosis. The SuprAA device described at EACTS allows direct access to the aorta and innominate artery without sternal or thoracotomy incisions. It allows direct and precise deployment into the aorta of a transcatheter aortic valve and allows use of large sheaths for delivery of the valve.

Watch an EACTS interview with Dr. Kiser and co-investigator Michael Reardon, M.D., chief of cardiac surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital and professor of surgery at Baylor University. (If the video is not showing on the linked page, go to http://www.eacts.org/annual-meeting/video-highlights-28th-annual-meeting/ and look under Video Highlights for “Acquired cardiac disease” and “Late breaker: Suprasternal approach TAVR FIM.”)