Heart valve replacement technique receives praise
A technique developed by a Vancouver team to replace worn-out artificial heart valves without involving major surgery is being praised as "one of the most exciting events in cardiology in the last 50 years."
These remarks come from an editorial in the current issue of the journal of the American Heart Association, Circulation, which accompanies a report on the new technique. The editorial accompanies a study co-authored and led by the Heart + Lung Institute's Dr. John Webb that describes 24 cases in Vancouver, Quebec City, Toronto and London, England in which the new technique was used on high-risk patients with failing artificial valves. During the procedure doctors insert a new valve through a tiny incision between the ribs or thread it up to the heart through a blood vessel in the leg. This technique could offer an alternative treatment for patients who are turned down for open heart surgery because of its riskiness. Read the story in the Vancouver Sun.