Jimmy Smits on the Death of 'NYPD Blue's' Bobby Simone, 15 and his First 'L.A. Law'.
Good Samaritan Hospital has a new procedure that helps high-risk patients avoid open-chest surgery.
Louis Baker, 98, of Los Angeles was told by his doctor that he needed to have his valve replaced.Dr. Cannom thought it was too dangerous for Baker to have open-chest surgery at his advanced age, so he proposed a new procedure called Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.
Dr. Steven Burstein is the Director of the Cardiac Catherization Laboratories at Good Samaritan Hospital.
There is a growing number of high-risk patients who are not eligible for open-chest surgery to replace the aortic valve.
A balloon-expandable heart valve can be placed into the body with a tube-based delivery system called a catheter.This tube-based system allows the valve to be inserted into the leg through a transfemoral or transapical procedure.The transapical procedure is available to certain patients such as Baker, who are not candidates for the transfemoral procedure because they do not have appropriate access through their leg arteries.
Baker's transcatheter heart valve procedure was performed in March of 2013).Baker was in the hospital for five days and is feeling better now.Baker says that his heart doesn't hurt anymore.For a 98-year-old man, I am back walking everyday and not feeling as tired.