Jack’s Leg Useful For Keyhole Heart Valve Replacement
June 21st, 2008One of the more frequent conversations I have with patients focus on new, minimally invasive technologies for heart valve replacement and heart valve repair. You can read prior posts about Edwards catheter-based aortic valve replacement or the Evalve Mitraclip for mitral valve repair.
According to The Star, Jack Burd, aged 17, became one of the first patients to have a new heart valve replaced via keyhole surgery – in his leg.
As you can see from the open heart surgery scars running down his chest (see above), this was Jack’s third heart surgery. Like many of us, Jack, from the United Kingdom, was born with a congenital heart defect. This last heart procedure was required to replace a heart valve that was simply worn-out.
Jack was offered the chance to have the keyhole procedure in which a valve was pushed in his leg and threaded through an artery to his heart. The operation lasted 2 hours and he was allowed home the following day.
The procedure cut many of the risks of major surgery which can take all day and has a 10-day hospital recovery period. Jack said, “I was just happy to have it done. I didn’t want to go through another open heart operation with all the risks. After this one I’ve been able to do a lot more than I could before and be more active with my friends and just feel much better than I did.”
A veteran of heart surgery, young Jack added, “I’m kind of used to operations and wasn’t too nervous – it wasn’t as bad as when I went in for open heart surgery.” He had his first operation at five months. Then, he had open heart surgery when he was three, seven and fourteen. Jack also had two pacemakers fitted.
The great news… Jack has already returned to Barnsley College where he is studying business.
Please remember, minimally invasive procedures are not appropriate for all patients and many of them are still in clinical trials across Europe and the United States.
Keep on tickin!
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| About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates clinical research with the personal experiences of 135 former patients to help future patients and their caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here. |
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