Leading cardiac doctors are calling for the Scottish government to provide funding for a minimally invasive heart valve replacement surgery called a TAVI.

TAVI stands for transcatheter aortic valve implantation which is a minimally invasive valve surgery for those suffering from aortic stenosis – a condition in which the heart valve do not function properly. The procedure involves the threading a catheter to the heart via an incision in the groin all the way up to the heart where the valve is replaced.

The TAVI procedure was developed in Europe back in 2002 and has since been widely used as an alternative to traditional open heart surgery for valve replacements, which has a high risk for post-surgical complications.

The TAVI procedure, however, is not funded by the National Health Service for Scotland, making this procedure inaccessible to most.

“There is nothing more upsetting and frustrating for clinicians than to have the skills to give a patient the treatment they need and be denied the opportunity, particularly when it is widely available everywhere else,” says Professor Keth Oldroyd a consultant cardiologist in Glasgow. “TAVI is a proven technology giving normal lives back to the people who receive it. There is increasing evidence that it is cost-effective in this carefully selected high-risk population.”

The Scottish government, however, does not agree. The government said in a statement that the most recent review of this heart valve replacement surgery failed to show enough evidence to make this procedure accessible. However, in light of the Scottish Cardiac Society’s request, a further investigation into the matter will take place.

Lady Gaga recently paid for her father’s minimally invasive valve surgery due to lack of insurance coverage as well.