INDIANAPOLIS, June 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The St. Francis Heart Center
today (June 17, 2011) announced that it has performed the
first post-FDA approval surgery in the United States using a new
device for treating tricuspid valve disease.
Called the Contour 3D™ Annuloplasty Ring, the device,
which is manufactured by Medtronic, is designed to
restore normal valve function by remodeling the natural valve’s
shape and size.
The procedure was performed by
Marc Gerdisch, M.D., chief of cardiothoracic surgery at
Franciscan St. Francis Health and surgical director of the St. Francis Heart Valve
Center. Gerdisch, a partner with Cardiac Surgery Associates,
provided input during the development of the new ring.
“Our team is focused on reestablishing normal heart physiology
to achieve optimal performance,” said Gerdisch. “We want the best
possible outcome for every single patient, and this device is part
of an approach that is based on restoring dynamic anatomy that has
been altered by disease.”
Tricuspid valve disease is a condition in which the valve
between the two right heart chambers (right ventricle and right
atrium) does not function properly. Tricuspid valve disease often
occurs with other heart valve problems as was the case with the
first patient to receive the Contour 3D Ring.
The case involved a 74-year-old woman with congestive heart
failure dating back more than a decade. The woman suffered from
multiple debilitating heart issues, and because the surgery
involved several of her heart’s components, having an annuloplasty
ring similar to the natural valve’s shape was key to an overall
successful procedure.
She is now recovering and doing very well, with echocardiography
showing positive results,
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