PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – For the first time in South Italy a transcatheter replacement procedure of the tricuspide valve was performed. The surgery was carried out at the ISMETT in Palermo, without opening the chest of the patient thanks to a prosthesis. The procedure was carried out by the team led by Dr. Caterina Gandolfo, Director of the Interventist Cardiology Unit, it lasted only 50 minutes and was successfully completed. The patient is in very good clinical condition and will be discharged in the coming days. “This is an extraordinary novelty for patients suffering from tricuspidal insufficiency, a disease often severe and disability, associated with high mortality and for which, until today, there were no really decisive therapies,” we read in a note. Not by chance the tricuspid is often called the “forgotten valve”. “Finally – says Caterina Gandolfo – we can effectively treat tricuspidal valvulopathy without resorting to traditional cardiosurgery, so without opening the chest or stopping the heart. The results are surprising: the prosthesis allows to completely eliminate the valve regurgitation. Remember that patients with severe tricuspidal failure suffer debilitating symptoms: hepatitis, kidneys, affanno, edema or inflator problems and are often forced to repeated admissions for heart failure.” The tricuspidal rigurgito is widespread in the early stages: it is found in 70-90% of those who are subjected to echocardiogram. The mild forms can also be present in healthy individuals, while the most severe ones increase with age and affect women more. Approximately 4% of over 75 have a clinically significant regurgitation but it is estimated that over 90% of patients with severe forms receive no treatment. “I would like to thank all my team, the management of Institute, the clinical direction and Michele Pilato, director of the Heart Center – Dr. Gandolfo again emphasizes – for the vision and support of the paths of innovation and for the constant multidisciplinary collaboration that made this goal possible.” The tricuspid is complex to treat due to its anatomy and position in the heart. The transcatheter prosthesis – Evoque – introduced to IRCCCS ISMETT is designed to overcome such difficulties: composed of a nitinol structure, an intra-anular fabric band and pericardial fabric flaps, is implanted through the femoral vein and guided ultrasoundly to the heart. The prosthesis is still at the valve ring, eliminating the rigurgito and restoring the normal function. “ The panorama of cardiovascular diseases becomes more challenging every day – explains Michele Pilato, Director of the Heart Center of ISMETT – for the complexity of patients, increasingly older and with different comorbilities. The availability to ISMETT of the new technologies and the most advanced treatment strategies, from traditional and mini-invasive surgical ones to trans-cateteral ones, allows us to have different proposition options and to be able to select the best therapeutic choice for the right patient, according to the modern principle of personalized medicine”. “The sharing and discussion of clinical cases – continues Michele Pilato – by a hearty team, made up of highly competent professional figures are guarantee of appropriateness of the procedure, patient safety and result quality.”.
– ISMETT press office photos –
(ITALPRESS).
