SRM Prime Hospital successfully performs India’s First Right Shoulder-Artery Heart Valve Replacement TAVR/TAVI
Chennai, April 2, 2026: In a significant medical breakthrough, SRM Prime Hospital has successfully performed India’s first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement/Implantation (TAVR/TAVI) through the right axillary artery—an alternative access route beneath the shoulder—on a 73-year-old patient suffering from severe calcific aortic stenosis. (L-R) Dr. Shrilekha Venkatesan, Assistant Director - Medical Services, Dr. Balamurugan S, Consultant – Interventional Cardiology, Patient and Dr. P. Balasubramanian, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, SRM Prime Hospital The patient, a retired professional, had presented with decompensated heart failure marked by severe breathlessness. Detailed evaluation revealed advanced narrowing of the aortic valve due to calcium deposits, severely restricting blood flow from the heart. Conventional access routes for the minimally invasive valve replacement procedure, including the commonly used leg artery ap...