You may have seen reports in the news relating to the transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) service at Castle Hill Hospital.
TAVI is a life-saving treatment for disease of the aortic heart valve which is often considered more suitable than open heart surgery for patients at high clinical risk, such as the very old or frail.
The news reports about our TAVI service discuss safety concerns which were highlighted through a number of independent reviews, dating between 2021 and 2024.
Our specialist teams have worked very hard to address the matters raised in each independent review to build a safer service for our patients and make the necessary improvements.
More than 500 TAVI procedures have been carried out on patients across the Humber region to date and while any type of surgery or clinical procedure carries some degree of risk, we have full confidence in our service going forward. Our TAVI service also has the backing of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).
If it is recommended that you receive the TAVI procedure, or if you are already due to undergo TAVI in the coming weeks, we understand you may have questions.
All patients listed for TAVI will receive a pre-assessment appointment, where the procedure will be explained and you will be given the opportunity to ask any questions. If you are worried about safety in any way, or if you wish to understand more about the operation itself or the risks involved with the procedure, please take this opportunity to ask questions of your doctor or nurse. You may find it helpful to write any questions down before your appointment.
If you have any questions after your appointment takes place, you are welcome to get in touch with the cardiology department again, anytime up to your procedure taking place.
Please remember that TAVI is usually the preferred option for patients who need heart valve treatment but for whom open heart surgery is considered too risky or likely to put too much strain on the body. Patients for whom TAVI is recommended are often very ill, frail or elderly and, while having any type of procedure carries some degree of risk, having the procedure is still a much better and much safer option for this group of patients than other types of surgery, or no surgery at all.
You can find out more about TAVI on the British Heart Foundation website or you can read our patient leaflet on TAVI on our own website.