How is a TAVI performed?

How is a TAVI performed? So a TAVI is almost always now performed under a local anaesthetic so you do not get put to sleep under general anaesthetic. We often do have anaesthetists around to help make the procedure more comfortable for example with administration of sedation or painkillers if required. We put local anaesthetic normally in the legs and we pass tubes up the artery on one side and the vein on the other and advance a new valve through a large tube into the heart using x-ray and contrast ensure that we have the correct position and deploy the valve. The procedure itself takes about an hour you are recovered initially in the operating room and then are normally transferred back to the ward where we normally ask you to lie flat for three or four hours just for your leg to heal up before you'll be able to sit out in a chair. If the procedure is completely uncomplicated it's often possible to be walking within six or eight hours that evening and in some instances you can be discharged within 24 or 48 hours.