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BOSTON, MA (NBC) - There is some good news for patients suffering with a leaky heart valve. Doctors are using a minimally invasive procedure to fix the problem. And that means no more open-heart surgery.
The mitral valve separates two chambers in the heart, the left atrium from the left ventricle. If the mitral valve doesn't work properly and blood leaks backwards it's called mitral regurgitation. And it can leave patients fatigued and short of breath.
Cardiac surgeon Michael Davidson says, left untreated, patients with mitral regurgitation can suffer serious complications. Dr. Davidson says, "You can get heart rhythm disturbances which can cause blood clots and strokes. You can have your heart muscle actually start to get worse and worse function and so by the time you develop symptoms you've actually lost some of your heart function."
The traditional treatment is open heart surgery to repair the valve. Dr. Andrew Eisenhauer, an Interventional Cardiologist, talks about that surgery, "That's a sternum splitting operation in which the patient gets put on a heart lung machine, the heart is stopped and opened and the mitral valve is either repaired surgically or replaced."
Now doctors at Brigham & Women's Hospital are offering a new, minimally invasive technique as part of a nationwide study.
Doctors use a catheter to reach the heart valve.
Dr. Eisenhauer explains, "And that can allow us to manipulate a small clip which can actually clip the mitral leaflets together to help in some cases control or actually cure the mitral regurgitation. So rather than having a big incision and stopping the heart, this is done through small punctures in the arteries and veins with the heart still beating."
That makes it easier for both doctors and patients.
With the minimally invasive procedure, patients usually spend one night in the hospital compared to about five nights with open heart surgery. And there's also less pain involved.
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