The new Houston Methodist Valve Clinic at Sugar Land enables heart patients with the most complex valve conditions to receive centralized, coordinated care from diagnosis to treatment.

 

“The new clinic allows us to offer the full range of valve-related services in a more streamlined manner that enables patients to remain with the same doctor and nursing staff throughout their care,” said board-certified interventional cardiologist Michael H. Koo, M.D. “The relationship between heart patients and their doctors is critical, and now we can provide continuous care, even to patients with the most complex cases.”

 

The Houston Methodist Valve Clinic at Sugar Land offers patients a wide range of interventional and surgical treatments, with many procedures available on-site at Houston Methodist Sugar Land.

 

Currently, the most advanced procedures – such as transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) – are performed at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) due to rules set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The new clinic structure allows Koo and his colleague, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Marvin D. Atkins Jr., M.D., to perform all pre-procedure workups locally and then travel with the patient to perform the TAVR at Houston Methodist in the medical center.

 

“Patients today want to stay close to home for their care,” said Atkins. “There are a multitude of reasons for that preference, from reducing the stress of traveling to the desire to remain with a doctor and staff they know. Being able to provide the full range of cardiology services in Fort Bend is vitally important. The new Valve Clinic will increase access to care for local residents and enhance our ability to serve patients from across the area.  With the upcoming guidelines from CMS, our future plans are to perform the TAVR procedures at Houston Methodist Sugar Land, within the next few months.”

 

The Valve Clinic will also open opportunities for local participation in the latest cardiology clinical trials, offering leading-edge treatment options and new technologies for patients with serious conditions.

 

“Dr. Atkins and I are thrilled to have the new Houston Methodist Valve Clinic at Sugar Land operating,” said Koo. “And we are excited to work in concert with our colleagues on the heart team at Houston Methodist in the medical center to continue to enhance our capabilities locally.”

 

The Houston Methodist Valve Clinic at Sugar Land is located on the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus in Medical Office Building 3, Suite 210. To make an appointment, call 346.874.2081.