Physicians at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital's heart institute have successfully completed the country's first mitral valve replacement using a new minimally invasive system, the health system said Sept. 30.
The procedure, performed on July 13, involved the HighLife Trans-septal MVR system. The transcatheter system is made of a valve and ring implant, which are implanted between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart via minimal incisions in the groin. The procedure is guided by an echocardiogram.
"HighLife is exciting as it offers fully percutaneous mitral valve replacement via a very controlled, hemodynamically stable and intuitive procedure," said Pradeep Yadav, MD, a structural interventional cardiologist at Piedmont's Marcus Heart Valve Center. "It resulted in a perfect outcome with complete elimination of mitral regurgitation. The patient did very well and was discharged home on day four and continues to do well at 30 days."
Dr. Yadav led the procedure alongside Vivek Rajagopal, MD, an interventional cardiologist, and Vinod Thourani, MD, a cardiac surgeon.