Edward Lifesciences, a U.S. medical tech company, recently named Asan Medical Center (AMC) as Asia's first “excellent TAVI educational institution,” recognizing it for its unrivaled TAVI performance and educational capabilities. Shortened for transcatheter aortic valve implantation, TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure to insert a new valve in the heart.
With the designation, AMC is qualified to manage, supervise, and educate hospitals and medical staff globally who perform TAVI for the first time, the hospital said.
Previously, Edwards Lifesciences selected only U.S. and European hospitals as excellent TAVI educational institutions.
This time, however, it chose AMC in Korea and St. Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital in Australia for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region.
To be named as an excellent TAVI educational institution, the hospital has to provide sufficient experience in the procedure and patients’ disease severity and cases should be diverse. Also, patients’ complications should be low after 30 days of the procedure.
Furthermore, relevant medical staff such as cardiologists and thoracic surgeons should be qualified to conduct 1:1 TAVI treatment training, management, and supervision. Hospitals should also have facilities for TAVI, and provide online and offline education.
AMC received the first certification in Korea as a hospital that operates the 3M TAVI Benchmark program -- a multidisciplinary, complex, and minimally invasive TAVI procedure protocol to minimize the physical burden of patients and help them recover quickly.
Several studies prove that patients' treatment performance improves by standardizing management before and after TAVI treatment, and Edward Lifesciences evaluates and certifies these hospitals.
AMC achieved 1,000 cases of TAVI procedures for the first time in Asia in May 2021. The hospital performs about 250 cases annually, and only seven U.S. institutions can perform similarly.
Although the average age of these 1,000 patients exceeds 80 years, an assessment of the severe stroke incidence and rate of premature mortality within 30 days demonstrated a 96 percent success rate, and an improved 99 percent success rate in the last five years, AMC said.