Operating room in a hospital during a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedure on an 89-year-old female patient with severe aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve opening). TAVI involves inserting a catheter into a blood vessel in the chest and guiding it toward the aortic valve. This procedure is the most effective treatment for aortic valve diseases. The catheter is then used to guide and place a replacement valve over the top of the old one. Valve replacement usually requires an open-heart procedure with a sternotomy, in which the chest is surgically opened for the procedure. For the series of images of the TAVI procedure see SPL codes C060/2031 and C060/2034 - C060/2049.