March 29, 2010 - Medical City Performs 100th Heart Valve Replacement Without Open Heart Surgery

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

There’s always a breakthrough technique on the horizon at Medical City Heart. And this time it’s a revolutionary procedure for patients who suffer from critical aortic stenosis (diseased aortic valve.) Medical City has been selected as one of the first three centers in the United States participating in the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valvues}  evaluating the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve, developed by Edwards Lifesciences, in patients who are considered high-risk or non-operable for conventional open-heart valve surgery.

Why transcatheter?

The new heart valve is implanted without open-heart surgery, using minimally invasive techniques. First, the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve is loaded onto a balloon delivery catheter. Then it is threaded through the patient’s circulatory system from the leg (transfermoral approach) or inserted between the ribs (transapical approach) directly into the heart and positioned to replace the patient’s diseased valve. Both procedures are performed on a “beating heart,” without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass and its associated risks.

Annually, some 200,000 people in the United States need a heart valve. But nearly half of them do not receive a new valve for a variety of reasons. Advancements in transcatheter technologies offer a promising option for the large number of high-risk patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis.

Who is a candidate for the procedure?

Specific patients who are candidates for the trial include: 

• Critical aortic stenosis
• Advanced age
• Previous sternotomy for cardiac procedures
• Previous radiation to the chest
• Porcelain (heavy calcification) of the ascending aorta
• Frailty or debility
• A Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) predicated risk of mortality of conventional surgery >10%
• Cerebral or peripheral vascular disease, renal insufficiency or other significant co-morbidities
• Turned down for conventional valve replacement surgery

A joint team of cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nurses and research coordinators will evaluate patients who may be candidates for the PARTNER trial. If you have a patient that you feel may be a candidate for this trial, please contact Jill Fowler at 972-566-6389. If you have questions or would like additional information, please call 972-566-7219.

Press Release:  September 9, 2008 - Taking the 'Open' out of Open-Heart Surgery.  Medical City Investigates Alternative Heart Valve Implantation Procedures for High-Risk and Inoperable Patients