At the Franciscaines, revolutionary heart surgery for inoperable patients

Une bioprothèse qui se pose avec une chirurgie beaucoup moins invasive. DR

Still relatively undeveloped in France, a minimally invasive procedure can treat patients who were previously inoperable due to their age or fragile health

Last October, a patient over 70 years old suffering from severe mitral insufficiency, and
who would not have been able to withstand conventional heart surgery, benefited from the implantation of a mitral bioprosthesis by catheter, called TendyneTM. It was a multidisciplinary team from the Nouvel Hôpital Privé Les Franciscaines, composed of cardiologists Eric Maupas and Victor-Xavier Tadros, Walid Ghodhbane, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, and Dr. Mathieu, cardiologist and ultrasound specialist, who guided the entire procedure.

Still relatively undeveloped in France, this cutting-edge, minimally invasive technology “marks a decisive turning point in the care of patients who, due to their age or high surgical risk, are not eligible for conventional open-heart surgery”, explains Walid Ghodhbane, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. “Valve replacement surgery is often the preferred treatment. TendyneTM offers a sustainable and less invasive alternative, adapted to these patients inoperable”, adds Victor-Xavier Tadros.

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Hope for high-risk patients

The implantation of the TendyneTM bioprosthesis is a sophisticated and less invasive procedure than conventional surgery. Indeed, it is performed without cardiac arrest or recourse to extracorporeal circulation, which considerably reduces the operative risks and postoperative complications. Mitral insufficiency, a pathology with multiple consequencesThe mitral valve is one of four valves in the heart that control the flow of blood. Mitral regurgitation is one of the most common heart valve diseases. It occurs when the mitral valve does not close properly, causing blood to leak in the opposite direction. This abnormality puts an extra workload on the heart, which can lead to heart failure. Patients who suffer from it have a variety of symptoms: shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, dry or hacking cough, swollen ankles and feet, dizziness…
Drug treatments can alleviate these symptoms but do not resolve the valve dysfunction at the origin of the problem.

This technique is performed by inserting a catheter through a small incision (about 3 cm) made in the chest, between the ribs. The prosthesis is guided to the heart via the left ventricle, where it is deployed with millimeter precision to replace the defective mitral valve.

1700 patients in France in the last six years

The procedure, performed under general anesthesia, is guided in real time by Dr. Mathieu, an ultrasound cardiologist with advanced imaging techniques. The introduction of the catheter allows the prosthesis to be positioned and anchored directly in the native valve.

In France, the use of this TendyneTM bioprosthesis remains a medical niche, with approximately 1,700 patients having benefited from it over the last six years.

With this new technique, the Franciscaines “are pleased to be at the forefront of cutting-edge cardiac technologies.”