Cardiologists at Cincinnati-based UC Health have performed the country's first endoscopic triple valve surgery on a 63-year-old heart failure patient.
The procedure was performed July 12 at the health system's UC Medical Center, according to a news release sent to Becker's.
Four more details:
1. Through a single, one-inch long incision, the surgical team replaced the patient's aortic and mitral valve, and repaired the tricuspid valve.
2. "Because of the sternal sparing and miniaturized incision site, the patient experiences less pain, has a shorter hospital stay, and overall a faster recovery and back to normal life," said Tommaso Hinna Danesi, MD, one of 12 physicians in the world able to perform advanced endoscopic heart valve surgery, according to an Aug. 19 news release. Dr. Danesi led the procedure. He is a heart surgeon at UC Health and associate professor of surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
3. To prepare for the procedure, a surgical planning team led by Frank Rybicki MD, PhD, vice chair of radiology at the health system and a professor of medicine, created a 3D map of the patient's heart and valves. This allowed Dr. Danesi and team to navigate the route to the patient's heart and valves in advance to better target the incision.
4. The patient was discharged less than a week after the surgery.