Replacement of the aortic valve without a scalpel

It became possible to replace the heart valve without surgery

Tatiana Bateneva, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Clinical trials of a new heart valve that can be implanted in patients without open heart surgery have begun at the Bloom Institute of Cardiology at Northwestern University (Illinois, USA). It is designed to replace the aortic valve.

Aortic stenosis usually affects the elderly. The flaps of the aortic valve thicken due to calcium settling on them and lose the ability to normally pass blood from the heart into the aorta. Patients experience shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness and chest pain. If the valve is not replaced, the life expectancy of such patients is significantly reduced. Since the 60s of the last century, open heart surgery has been considered the "gold standard" for the treatment of aortic stenosis. However, it is not available for many high-risk patients. Already created valve prostheses in the form of a metal ring, which can be inserted into the heart without surgery, require large diameter catheters, which is not suitable for all patients. In addition, they cannot be replaced if the size suddenly turns out to be unsuitable.

Unlike existing prostheses, the new artificial aortic valve of the Direct Flow Medical system is not made of metal, but of two "bagels" made of soft plastic, which are interconnected by a polyester fabric.

It is injected with a catheter through the femoral artery, then inflated. If necessary, it can be pulled out and replaced with a different size to achieve a better result.

Inflatable valve cuffs provide a tight fit to the walls of the aorta. When the size is precisely adjusted, the valve is filled with a liquid polymer, which soon hardens.

– The technology that allows you to operate without a heart–lung machine will save the lives of patients who cannot be operated on using the traditional method today, - says the head of the study, Professor James Flaherty from Northwestern University. – The unique design allows you to inject it more than once until doctors are completely sure that it is in the optimal position.

30 patients will take part in clinical trials, and their duration will be five and a half years, after which the results of the trials will be summed up.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru11.10.2013