Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

Blog Topics: Heart Valve Surgery Videos; MitraClip; Catheter-Based Valve Repair; Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery Video; Evalve

I’m not sure if you heard of the MitraClip Device by Evalve yet… But, I was just scolling through YouTube.com when I saw a new video which demonstrates how this catheter-based, minimally invasive approach works to repair mitral valves.

I was really impressed by the technology. Considering its non-invasive, the healing time is faster and the recovery is usually only a few weeks versus a few months. (Ahhh. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?)

Unfortunately, as you can see in my heart valve surgery pictures, I had a full median sternotomy from the Ross Procedure which replaced two valves in my heart - the aortic and pulmonary.

Anyways, I have positioned MitraClip Mitral Valve Repair Video as my “Heart Valve Surgery Video Of The Week” but if I take it down in the future, you can view it by clicking here:

MitraClip Video - Mitral Valve Repair Video, Minimally Invasive Heart Valve Surgery

Here is more information about the MitraClip Device

The Evalve Percutaneous Mitral Repair (PMR) system is used by interventional cardiologists and is intended to reduce mitral regurgitation (MR), adapting the open surgical edge-to-edge technique in a less invasive catheter-based procedure.

Since the early 1990’s, edge-to-edge has been increasingly used in the treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR). Pioneered in Italy by Dr. Ottavio Alfieri, the technique involves suturing together the two leaflets of the mitral valve. The valve continues to open on both sides of the suture, allowing blood flow through the valve from the left atrium to left ventricle, while assuring proper valve closure when blood is pumped from the left ventricle to the rest of the body.

Well over 1,500 procedures have been reported in peer-reviewed clinical literature with up to 15 years of follow-up. The collective experience has demonstrated that the surgical technique appears to be safe, effective and durable.

The Evalve Percutaneous Mitral Repair System with the MitraClip® Device
The system consists of three major subsystems:

• A Guide Catheter
• A Clip Delivery System, and
• The MitraClip Device(implant).

The Guide Catheter is inserted into the femoral vein at the groin and provides access to the mitral valve. The Clip is used to grasp and fasten together the valve leaflets. The Clip Delivery System is used to deliver and deploy the MitraClip device.

Patients recovering from mitral valve surgery may take up to several months to regain normal physical function and activity. Because PMR does not require a chest incision or the use of a heart lung machine, patients may avoid the complications and long recovery time associated with surgery.

I hope this helps explains and shows you about the MitraClip Device by Evalve.

Keep on tickin,

Adam

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 8:31 pm and is filed under Heart Surgery Video, Technology Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print This Post | EMail This Post.