Dr. Carmen Piccolo discusses the TCAR procedure with Ken Ard during Wake Up Carolina on February 13.

McLeod Vascular Surgeon Dr. Carmen Piccolo and McLeod Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Robert Messier were guests on the Wake Up Carolina Radio Show on Thursday, February 13.

Both surgeons discussed minimally-invasive procedures that reduce recovery time for patients. During Dr. Piccolo’s interview he educated the listeners about Transcarotid Arterial Revascularization or TCAR. This procedure is for patients with blockages in their carotid arteries but who are at high risk for the traditional method of removing the blockages. The carotid arteries, the main arteries to the brain, carry blood flow on each side of the neck up into the brain.

Dr. Messier’s message regarded Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement or TAVR, a procedure performed at McLeod Regional Medical Center, that allows physicians to replace a patient’s diseased or damaged heart valve without removing the old valve. Performed similar to a heart catheterization, the artificial valve is inserted through a small incision in an artery in the leg then guided to the heart using X-ray imaging. The new valve is then released and starts functioning immediately.

For more information on these procedures, visit www.mcleodheart.org.