Alternative To Open Heart Surgery
In this article, a alternative to open heart surgery is presented to fix a "leaky" heart. This problem occurs when the mitral (bicuspid) valve does not shut all the way and blood is allowed to flow in the retrograde direction. This can cause major problems such as fatigue, exercise intolerance, shortness of breath and swelling. This dangerous because there is not enough blood being circulated around the body.
Traditionally, this problem was fixed through open heart surgery, an extremely invasive procedure with many months needed for recovery. If a patient was too old or weak, open heart surgery could sometimes doe more harm than good. This is where the new procedure becomes useful. The procedure uses a catheter inserted through the femoral artery in the groin. After the catheter is directed into the problem area of the heart, a clip is passed through the catheter and holds the mitral valve together insuring no "leakage" occurs. The catheter is then taken out, but the clip stays in place.
The procedure takes about two hours to complete, which is the same amount of time that open heart surgery usually takes. The alternative procedure is beneficial in the fact that it cuts recovery time down to only a few weeks. It is also a lot less invasive than the open heart surgery.
I thought this is really interesting because it allows patients who are old and cannot handle open heart surgery to fix their heart. Even though the procedure takes the same amount of time the recovery time is a lot shorter and the procedure time is a lot less harsh on the body. Therefore, even stronger patients may opt to use this procedure instead of open heart surgery to fix a leaky mitral valve. I also thought this was interesting because we had learned all about the valves and heart in class, so it was interesting to see actual applications being researched and developed in the areas that we had studied in class.
Article Link
Jessica Sabbagh
VTPP 435-502
Traditionally, this problem was fixed through open heart surgery, an extremely invasive procedure with many months needed for recovery. If a patient was too old or weak, open heart surgery could sometimes doe more harm than good. This is where the new procedure becomes useful. The procedure uses a catheter inserted through the femoral artery in the groin. After the catheter is directed into the problem area of the heart, a clip is passed through the catheter and holds the mitral valve together insuring no "leakage" occurs. The catheter is then taken out, but the clip stays in place.
The procedure takes about two hours to complete, which is the same amount of time that open heart surgery usually takes. The alternative procedure is beneficial in the fact that it cuts recovery time down to only a few weeks. It is also a lot less invasive than the open heart surgery.
I thought this is really interesting because it allows patients who are old and cannot handle open heart surgery to fix their heart. Even though the procedure takes the same amount of time the recovery time is a lot shorter and the procedure time is a lot less harsh on the body. Therefore, even stronger patients may opt to use this procedure instead of open heart surgery to fix a leaky mitral valve. I also thought this was interesting because we had learned all about the valves and heart in class, so it was interesting to see actual applications being researched and developed in the areas that we had studied in class.
Article Link
Jessica Sabbagh
VTPP 435-502
posted by Jessica Sabbagh at 1:35 PM
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