Interdisciplinary Care and Innovation the Foundation of Penn Valve Center

For more than a decade, the clinical specialists of Penn Medicine's heart valve disease program have led the way in the development of new techniques and devices for valve disease. Today, this clinical expertise comes together in the Penn Valve Center.

Based in the Heart and Vascular Center, the Penn Valve Center provides patients with valve disease access to superior interdisciplinary treatment in one convenient location. Penn is the largest provider of heart valve care in the region and performs more than 1,000 valve procedures annually.

"We have built an impressive record of performing valve repair and replacement procedures and lead Pennsylvania with better than expected outcomes," says Joseph Woo, MD, director, minimally invasive and robotic surgery program. "We strive to improve longevity and quality of life for valve patients by offering a full range of interventional and surgical options, including minimal access and transcatheter valve procedures."

Surgeries are performed in one of Penn Medicine's three hybrid cath lab/OR suites, which are located at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. These state-of-the-art surgical suites, which feature the technologies needed to perform both minimally invasive and open procedures, are specially designed to allow for collaboration between interventional cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons.

"The hybrid OR possesses superior imaging technology, which means fewer and smaller incisions are required to complete a case," explains Wilson Szeto, MD, surgical director, transcatheter cardio-aortic therapies. "This results in shorter hospital stays and better patient outcomes."

Following valve surgery, patients are evaluated postoperatively and at one year. This longitudinal clinical support is provided by advanced nurse practitioners working in collaboration with the cardiovascular surgical team.


"One of the key benefits of the Penn Valve Center will be the creation of a sophisticated and secure health information platform that allows us to accurately follow our patients' life-long progress," says Nimesh Desai, MD, PhD, cardiovascular surgeon and architect of the Penn Valve Center database.

"Long-term follow up allows us to offer an enhanced level of care while gaining a better understanding of the health needs of valve surgery patients over time," says Michael Acker, MD, chief of cardiovascular surgery. "It also means that we can provide referring physicians with robust feedback."

The Penn Valve Center is supported by active research programs, which have placed it at the forefront of new developments in the diagnosis and management of heart valve disorders. In addition to the host of Penn-initiated research projects, there are also a number of national, multicenter studies in which the Penn Valve Center participates.
 
Procedures Offered at the Penn Valve Center:

• Advanced port-access surgery for mitral valve repair and replacement
• Balloon valvuloplasty to treat mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis
• Percutaneous (catheter-based) mitral valve clip repair to treat mitral regurgitation
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement or surgery to treat aortic stenosis
• Valve-sparing aortic root replacement
• Complex aortic root construction of all types
• Robotic surgery with three-dimensional endoscopic imaging

For more information about the Penn Valve Center or to schedule an appointment, please 800-789-PENN (7366), or visit PennMedicine.org/heart.