A team of affiliated physicians at the Larry D. Johnson Heart & Vascular Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center announced that they have successfully performed the world’s first procedure using a newly approved tissue valve for valve replacement. This device helps treat people with aortic or mitral valve disease, and includes innovations that further improve blood flow and simplify valve implantation.
“This is an exciting milestone for our team, but even more so for our patients with heart valve disease,” said Dr. Danny Ramzy, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and chair of cardiac surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “We are constantly innovating and strive to offer our patients the latest in treatment options. This new valve will allow us to preserve and facilitate future patient options for lifetime management of their mitral or aortic valve disease.” Dr. Ramzy was the first in the world to implement the new tissue valve in both open-chest and robotic procedures on August 24th and 26th, respectively.
When the aortic or mitral valve fails to close properly or open fully, the heart has to work harder to pump blood efficiently and blood flow to the body may be reduced. If left untreated, heart valve disease can lead to heart failure, stroke, blood clots or death. Diseased or damaged heart valves that cannot be repaired may be surgically replaced with either mechanical or bioprosthetic (tissue) valves in an open-heart surgical procedure. Tissue valves are recommended for patients requiring valve replacement who are appropriate surgical candidates, and particularly when long-term blood-thinning medication is not suitable due to bleeding risk.
The newly approved replacement tissue valve now being offered at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center is designed to help blood flow smoothly through the heart, and its new frame configuration allows it to expand to facilitate future cardiac interventions if patients need them, including less invasive transcatheter valve procedures.