Vermont Business Magazine Patients whose hearts have a faulty mitral valve and are considered high risk for open-heart surgery now have a treatment option offered by cardiologists at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Called Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVR), the procedure uses a catheter inserted through a vein in the leg to reach the heart and make the repair.
The mitral valve performs a check-valve function and islocated between the left atrium, where blood enters the heart from the lungs, and the left ventricle, which pumps the blood to your entire body.
Abnormal leaking of blood backwards from theleft ventricle, through the mitral valve into theleft atriumis called mitral valve regurgitation. This valve failure is often the result of aging or disease. Whilesmall leaks are usually not considered a problem, more severe cases weaken the heart over time and can lead toheart failure.
Open-heart surgeryis the standard method of treatment for mitral valve regurgitation; however, the invasive nature of this surgery makes it not a feasible option for all patients.
The new procedure
TMVR is a minimally invasive treatment option that uses an FDA-approved device calledMitraclip. It is a small clothespin-like device that is attached to the mitral valve using a catheter guided through a one-quarter inch incision in a vein in the leg to reach the heart.
The mitral valve leaflets are clipped together with the device instead of being sutured together during open-heart surgery, making this procedure much less invasive, but still effective for improving the heart's blood pumping efficiency. Once placed, the clip helps to close the leaky valve and restores effective function.
“More than25,000 patients have been treated worldwide and have seenimprovement in heart failure- related symptoms with this device,” said Harold Dauerman, M.D.,interventional cardiologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center and professor of Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.
“The UVM Health Networkstarted offering this treatmentoption to appropriate patients in January. We are treating 1-2 patients a month, including a 90-year old who had become extremely immobilized by his disease. I am happy to report that he had a rapid recovery from the procedure and is now enjoying a much improved lifestyle.”
Learn more about mitral valve repair in thisblogby DrDauerman.
Video animation of aMitraclip placement.
About the University of Vermont Medical Center
The University of Vermont Medical Centeris a 447-bed tertiary care regional referral center providing advanced care to approximately 1 million residents in Vermont and northern New York. Together with our partners at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, we are Vermont’s academic medical center.The University of Vermont Medical Center also serves as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle counties.
The University of Vermont Medical Center is a member ofThe University of Vermont Health Network, an integrated system established to deliver high quality academic medicine to every community we serve. Our partners are:
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Medical Group
- The University of Vermont Health Network - Alice Hyde Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- The University of Vermont health Network - Porter Medical Center
For more information visitwww.UVMHealth.org/MedCenteror visit our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blog sites atwww.UVMHealth.org/MedCenterSocialMedia.