Fiber and Textile Innovations Pave the Way for Device Advancement

In February of this year, Overlake Medical Center in Seattle replaced a valve in the heart of an 87-year-old man in what was called a game-changing procedure.

The surgery was newsworthy because Overlake is one of only four hospitals in Washington to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to patients who have severe stenosis and are too high risk for traditional open heart surgery.

The procedure was groundbreaking because like so many emerging, minimally invasive treatments, TAVR is giving new hope to patients who until recently had few options for addressing a critical condition. Although expanding the pool of treatable patients isn’t the only reason surgeons are gravitating toward minimally invasive surgery (MIS), it’s changing the stakes for patients who would otherwise be left without surgical options.

A broad array of forces is driving the growing demand for MIS. According to Transparency Market Research of Albany, NY, the global market for MIS is expected to reach $50.6 billion by 2019. This growth is due to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular diseases; the aging of the global population, especially in developed countries; and the potential for lower healthcare costs resulting from less time in the OR, shorter recovery periods and less post-operative pain.