Cath innovation: Cardioband repairs first leaky tricuspid

Valtech Cardio's Cardioband system brings direct annuloplasty to the field of percutaneous coronary intervention—for catheter-based mitral valve repair and now, tricuspid valve repair.

A team from the University Hospital Zurich led by Francesco Maisano, MD recently succeeded in the first ever minimally invasive procedure using Cardioband to repair a leaky tricuspid valve, according to yesterday's press release from the University of Zurich.

The news comes shortly after Valtech shared follow-up data from a multi-center Cardioband Mitral study at the PCR London Valves 2016 conference. Results showed a "significant and consistent reduction in MR" with a "safety profile similar to equivalent transcatheter procedures" according to the session slides.

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Mitral Valve Repair: “An Opportunity for Quality Improvement”

Even in low-volume VA centers, mitral valve repair outcomes best replacement.

A large multi-center study presented at the 96th American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting followed trends in mitral valve (MV) surgeries in the Veterans Administration Health System from 2001-2013 and provided further evidence to support the use of mitral valve repair over mitral valve replacement in patients with degenerative MV disease.

"MVRepair has a greater short-term protective effect against mortality than MVReplace has in patients with primary degenerative MR," write the authors. "Despite this survival advantage, the rate of MVRepair is low at some centers; therefore, there is clearly an opportunity for quality improvement."

Beyond a survival advantage, mitral valve repair was also found to result in fewer complications and shorter hospital stays.

Is that success dependent on volume? Not necessarily.

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