Union Memorial Hospital Uniquely Selected for Heart Valve Technology
Aortic Valve Replacement Available for Inoperable Patients |
| Originally posted 01/04/2012 |
| |
Baltimore, MD (January, 2012) — Union Memorial Hospital has been uniquely selected as a site where inoperable aortic heart valve patients, with few or no treatment options, can now receive a life-saving replacement valve.
Using exciting new technology approved by the FDA in November, high risk patients with severe blood flow restriction in the valve, known as stenosis, may now be implanted with an Edwards LifeScience SAPIEN valve through a small incision in the femoral artery.
The maker of the valve has planned a slow and deliberate roll out, with the first wave of the technology available at only 150 hospitals nationally.
Union Memorial Hospital was selected to be one of them, based on the skill sets of the cardiac catheterization and open heart surgery teams, the volume of open heart replacements, the facility size and commitment of the hospital. Union Memorial Hospital is one of two Maryland hospitals which have met the criteria for the transcatheter replacement valve.
“We are excited to have been selected by Edwards LifeScience as a site to perform these aortic valve replacements,“ said Dr. John Wang, Chief of the cardiac catheterization lab at Union Memorial Hospital. “This transformational technology will greatly benefit our patients who need a new aortic valve but are not surgical candidates.“
The replacement valve, made of cow tissue and polyester, and supported by a stainless steel mesh frame, is mounted on a catheter, inserted into the femoral artery, tracked over the aortic arch and delivered to the patient’s diseased valve. The valve is positioned using a balloon expandable stent technology. There is no need to open the chest and no cardiopulmonary bypass. It is immediately functional.
# # # |
| |
| For more information on this or any other MedStar Union Memorial Hospital story, you may contact us at 410-554-2500. |
| |
| Return to Main News Page |
| |
|
Print
E-mail
