Doctors perform pioneering heart surgery
A local hospital conducted Shanghai’s first transcatheter heart valve replacement, or TAVR, by using the most recently approved transcatheter heart valve, DeltaHealth Hospital officials said on Tuesday.
Developed in the United States, Sapien 3 is the latest generation of valve replacement systems approved for patients who are unable or at high risk to undergo an open heart valve replacement surgery due to age, physical condition or other causes. It's designed to replace a patient’s damaged aortic valve through a minimally invasive procedure in which the valve is implanted with a catheter.
The surgery at DeltaHealth Hospital is the first time Sapien 3 has been used in a surgery in Shanghai since it was approved by the Chinese government last June, and showcased at the third China International Import Expo in November.
The patient is a 71-year-old female with aortic stenosis, a condition caused by factors such as age, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Her condition recently deteriorated, and she was at risk of heart failure or cardiac arrest.
The surgery was led by DeltaHealth's Ge Junbo, one of China’s leading cardiologists. The procedure took one hour, and the patient is recovering well, hospital officials said.
Doctors Ge Junbo (right) and Ge Lei (middle) led the surgery.
Sapien 3, the latest generation of valve replacement systems, is implanted into the patient using a catheter.
