For the first time at Sheba Medical Center, a tricuspid valve correction procedure has been performed by catheterization and without requiring a surgical incision. The life-saving procedure was performed on a 53-year-old woman with documented hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, whose condition had deteriorated of late. The woman recently suffered from shortness of breath and fatigue and was diagnosed with tricuspid regurgitation, a condition in which the tricuspid valve of the heart, located between the right atrium and right ventricle, does not close completely when the right ventricle contracts. Thus, blood is allowed to flow back from the right ventricle to the right atrium, which increases the volume and pressure of the blood in both the right atrium and ventricle.
After examining the patient’s condition and weighing treatment options, her physicians at Sheba opted to employ Abbott’s innovative TriClip procedure, which enables repairing the tricuspid valve without the need for open-heart surgery. This is accomplished by clipping together a portion of the leaflets of the tricuspid valve to reduce the backflow of blood. The TriClip was inserted successfully by catheterization via the femoral vein near the upper thigh, and the patient returned to full function.
“We are rapidly progressing toward a time when most valvular pathologies will be treated by catheterization without requiring invasive, complex surgical interventions,” said Prof. Elad Maor, a senior Sheba cardiologist, who did the procedure using Abbott’s TriClip. According to Prof. Amit Segev, Director of the Cardiology Division at Sheba Medical Center: “Advanced technologies play an essential part in modern medicine. With our leading team of experts, we can provide patients with the best results. The procedure we just completed at Sheba for the first time brings us one step closer to a day when most valvular pathologies will be treated by a minimally invasive procedure.”
