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Ed Yeates reportingInstead of major open heart surgery to replace a leaking heart valve, a Salt Lake hospital is testing a new device that simply repairs the valve on the end of a minimally invasive catheter.
Surgeons simply fish a small clip on the end of a catheter up into the heart, and as the name implies, clip the valve together so it works properly.
Jim Hillyard works out on a treadmill and is not even breathing hard. That's because he's got a little clip inside that's repaired his leaking mitral valve. How does he feel? He says, "I was out playing golf in two weeks, won 18 holes and shot one of my best scores."
On the end of a catheter, Dr. Brian Whisenant at Intermountain Medical Center (IMC) fed the device through a small incision up through Jim's groin to his heart. There, at the leaking mitral valve, the clip was attached to the tissue. "We actually clip the two leaflets of the valve together, and by doing so, we create almost two valves," Whisenant says.
Jim is the first among several patients in the Intermountain West participating in a third stage clinical trial.
It's a randomized study, which means the patients don't know until just before the procedure whether they'll get the clip or major surgery.
Again, Jim did get the clip. The repair was immediate. He went home the following day. Once approved for full use, patients will probably go home the same day.
IMC is among only 40 hospitals in the country doing these clinical trials.
For more information call 507-7000 and ask for the Everest II study.
