Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

According to ABC News, a New South Wales woman has become the first Australian to have a heart valve replaced without open heart surgery in a procedure that may revolutionize cardiac treatment for the frail and elderly.

In the minimally invasive procedure, a new aortic valve is attached to a long rod and fed through a small incision in the groin up to the the heart, where it defrosts and expands.

The state-of-the-art operation could replace conventional open heart surgery for many older patients who are too frail or ill to cope with a major operation and long recovery time.

Kathleen Condon, a 92-year-old from Port Macquarie in New South Wales, became the first to undergo the procedure, but her doctors say dozens of other Australians will soon follow.

“This is a major breakthrough for older patients who have a worn out, failing aortic valve and too many other medical problems to make conventional surgery a good option,” said David Muller, director of interventional cardiology at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.

“With this new technology, we can offer more patients a better prognosis, sparing them surgery and a months-long recovery period, which all huge benefits, especially if you’re in your 80s or 90s.”

Professor Muller said it was timely given the number of patients requiring heart valve replacement was expected to increase sharply over the coming decades due to the aging of the baby boomers.

Mrs Condon, a keen bridge player with an active life, said she was relieved to avoid full surgery and was feeling “remarkably well” just 48 hours after her operation. The otherwise stressful operation did not appear to be taking a tough toll on her.

“I’m actually hoping to join a gym after all this is over,” she said.

However, the news regarding minimally invasive aortic valve replacements is not all positive. Here is a recent blog which raises some concerns and risks of Edwards Sapien Valve.

Keep on tickin!

Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 at 8:54 am and is filed under Medical Advances. 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.