Before Your Implant Procedure
Giving Consent
Before the procedure, the TAVI doctor will meet with you and go over both the benefits and risks of having a TAVI procedure. Once your questions have been answered and you agree to have the procedure, we will ask you to read and sign a consent form. Some people find it hard to read and take in all this information right before the procedure. Let us know if you need help with reading the form before you sign it.
Before you are taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, the nurse may give you some medication which may relax you and make you sleepy.
During the Implant Procedure
Your implant procedure will probably take about two hours (occasionally it takes a little longer). It is done in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Once you are in the procedure room, the anesthetist doctor will start your anaesthesia.
If you are having local anesthesia, the doctor will use a type of anesthesia medication that helps you relax and feel sleepy. You will also have “freezing” medication in your groin so you do not feel any pain. In fact, you may sleep right through the whole procedure.
With some types of TAVI procedures, you may require general anesthesia. This means you will receive medications that will completely relax all of your muscles including your breathing muscles. With general anesthesia, once you are asleep, the doctor will put a breathing tube in your mouth. This tube is connected to a breathing machine. Usually the breathing tube is removed before you are fully awake.
All other equipment such as intravenous lines, a heart monitor, and a temporary pacemaker will be put in after you are asleep.
Once your implant procedure is completed, you will be transferred to the Coronary Care Unit.
For the Family/Contact Person
Once your procedure is completed, the doctor will want to contact your family to let them know how you did. The doctor can either talk to your family in person or call a designated family member on the telephone.
If your family wants to speak to the doctor in person, we will refer them to the lobby volunteer desk where they can register with the volunteers and wait in the Family Lounge.
If you want the doctor to call a specific family member, the staff will ask you for the name and phone number where your family member can be reached.
The staff will ensure those arrangements are made with you and your family before your procedure starts.