I've assisted on many aortic and mitral valve replacements using the "old fashioned" open chest technique when I was an O.R. Nurse, but never even seen a TAVR, although my wife has assisted on quite a few in the interventional cath lab she works in. TAVR stands for Trans Aortic Valve Replacement.

You should investigate the number of these your surgeon has done and his success rate, and also get a second opinion from another interventional cardiologist who has done the procedure. They have great advantages over the open procedure but have their own list of risks as well. There is no chest incision, the catheter is inserted in the femoral artery (upper thigh near the groin) and threaded up the aorta and once positioned is deployed, somewhat like a stent is done. Beyond that I have no experience with them. Good Luck.