Northern beaches woman undertakes revolutionary heart procedure
SYDNEY woman Kay Norman has been given a new lease of life after undergoing a revolutionary new heart procedure that she says is ‘minimally-invasive, with patients often being able to walk the next day’.
Manly
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A FORESTVILLE resident has been given a new lease of life after undergoing a revolutionary new heart procedure.
Kay Norman, 79, struggled to breathe and was unable to walk due to a leaking heart valve.
Initially Mrs Noman’s cardiologist suggested open heart surgery.
However, Mrs Norman underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the 1980s, which meant open heart surgery would be extremely risky.
It was then that the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, known as TAVI, became available on the Medicare Benefits Scheme, a procedure that was perfect for Mrs Norman.
Dr Jason Kaplan, Head of the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Program at Macquarie University Hospital, said TAVI had revolutionised the treatment of heart disease, by enabling the keyhole replacement of the aortic valve, without the need for risky open-heart surgery.
“Unlike open heart surgery, this surgery is minimally-invasive, with patients often being able to walk the next day,” he said.
“While the surgery is commonly used for older patients, due to robust clinical trial data, in years to come we could see TAVI being the surgery of choice for most patients with aortic stenosis.”
Mrs Norman said she immediately felt better after the operation and she was able to go home the next day.
“People kept commenting on how different I looked and how much better my breathing was,” Ms Norman said. “I haven’t taken up any dangerous sports or anything, but it’s great being able to even walk up to the shops now.”
Ms Norman will celebrate her 80th birthday in August and is looking forward to rejoining her walking group.
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