A couple married for 66 years celebrated their Valentine’s Day in good health, thanks to minimally invasive heart surgery they each had at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).
Elizabeth and James Mooney are now enjoying their retirement in Florida after undergoing a transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, procedure at the Suffern hospital.
James was the hospital’s first patient to undergo TAVR in January 2021. Elizabeth had hers late last year.
Chirag Badami, MD, their heart surgeon at Good Samaritan, said TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure that repairs the aortic valve. It takes about an hour and a half, and patients typically go home in a day. Prior to TAVR, patients had to undergo open heart surgery with more potential for complications and longer recovery time.
“This couple of 60 plus years got to prolong their lives and live symptom-free for hopefully many more years to come,” said Dr. Badami.
Good Samaritan Hospital recently reached a milestone of 100 transcatheter aortic valve replacements.
