St. Luke’s Medical Center - Global City Accomplishes First Native Balloon-Expandable Edwards SAPIEN 3 Valve Implant
St. Luke’s Medical Center - Global City marked another milestone in cardiovascular innovation with a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure using the Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve.
Led by Dr. Fabio Enrique Posas, Head of the Center for Structural Heart and Vascular Interventions (CSHVI), with guest Dr. Andrei M. Pop, world-renowned interventional cardiologist, the operation demonstrated how new surgical techniques continue to improve heart care for Filipino patients.
Inside the procedure
The procedure was performed on an 81-year-old female patient suffering from symptomatic severe aortic stenosis.
During the procedure, the patient received an Edwards SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve. While the St. Luke's team has worked with this valve line previously, Dr. Posas noted that this case marked the hospital's first native balloon-expandable Edwards valve implant.
Simply put, a collapsible replacement valve mounted on a tiny balloon was carefully guided through a catheter directly into her diseased valve. Once in position, the balloon was inflated to expand and secure the new valve firmly in place, immediately restoring healthy blood flow. Dr. Posas described the procedure as fast, easy, and smooth, with the patient experiencing zero complications.
What is TAVR?
TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure designed to treat severe aortic stenosis, a condition where the heart's aortic valve narrows and restricts normal blood flow.
Instead of traditional open-heart surgery, which requires opening the chest and stopping the heart, TAVR allows interventional cardiologists to thread a new artificial valve through a small catheter inserted into a blood vessel, usually in the groin. This approach eliminates major incisions, leading to faster recovery times and significantly reduced procedural risks.
To further underline St. Luke’s clinical expertise in this field, the surgery was followed by Dr. Pop’s expert scientific lecture on TAVR Lifetime Management, bringing together leading cardiologists, consultants, and fellows to discuss best practices for multi-decade patient care.
What this means for TAVR patients
This showcases how evolving medical technology translates into safer, gentler, and more comfortable treatments for patients. Older adults or high-risk individuals who might not qualify for open-heart surgery now have a proven, minimally invasive alternative that minimizes pain and gets them back to their daily lives much faster.
The accomplishment also builds on St. Luke’s Medical Center’s recent achievement of completing over 300 successful TAVR procedures just earlier this year. As a pioneer of structural heart interventions in the Philippines, St. Luke’s continues to expand its capabilities through its Center for Structural Heart and Vascular Interventions (CSHVI), ensuring world-class cardiovascular care remains accessible right here at home.
Dr. Fabio Enrique Posas (right) performs a TAVR procedure using the Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve on an 81-year-old patient with severe aortic stenosis.
For more information about TAVR and other cardiovascular services at St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City, contact the St. Luke's Center for Structural Heart and Vascular Interventions (CSHVI) at (632) 8789-7700 ext. 3021/3025.
