MitraClip Procedure Now Offered at Saint Vincent Hospital
Jul 28, 2016MitraClip Procedure for Patients at High Risk Now Offered at Saint Vincent Hospital
July 2016
Saint Vincent Hospital’s Structural and Valvular Heart Disease Program continues to grow by offering another alternative to patients who are considered high risk or inoperable for cardiac valve surgery.
The MitraClip procedure is recommended for patients who suffer from mitral regurgitation (MR) but are considered high risk for traditional open-heart surgery. The first two procedures at Saint Vincent Hospital were performed in June 2016. Mitral regurgitation occurs when the mitral valve fails to close properly and some of the blood the heart pumps leaks backwards into the left atrium. The patient may develop congestive heart failure with shortness of breath and fatigue.
The procedure is performed at Saint Vincent Hospital’s new hybrid catheterization lab, which provides state-of-the-art technology. It is performed under general anesthesia, which allows the cardiac team to perform a transesophageal echocardiogram during the implantation.
“The MitraClip procedure allows us to offer a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery that is very well-tolerated and allows patients to be discharged from the hospital within a few days feeling so much better,” said Dr. Robert Bojar, chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
“The MitraClip may be considered the state-of-the-art in robotic procedures in that it provides a method to repair a leaking heart valve through a tiny incision in the leg. We are delighted to offer this procedure to patients in central Massachusetts,” said Dr. Joseph Hannan, director of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology.
Saint Vincent Hospital’s Structural and Valvular Heart Disease Program has a very active transcatheter aortic valve (TAVR) program, having performed more than 80 procedures in the past year and a half. The SVH TAVR team is one of the few programs that offers this procedure with moderate sedation (versus general anesthesia) which for most patients speeds their recovery time.
