Pediatric Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Reduces Surgeries

A new transcatheter pulmonary valve and delivery system are indicated for pediatric patients with congenital heart defects, primarily those with right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) conduits.

Patients with congenital heart defects involving the connection between their right ventricle and pulmonary artery often require open heart surgery early in life to implant a prosthetic valved-conduit to establish adequate blood flow from the heart to the lungs. However, the functional life span of these conduits is relatively limited, and as a result most patients with this type of defect are committed to multiple open heart surgeries over their lifetime.

The Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve and the Ensemble transcatheter delivery system provide a non-surgical means to restore effective valve function and prolong the functional life of prosthetic conduits, thereby reducing the number of open heart surgeries for these patients throughout their lifetime. Transcatheter replacement valves are delivered via a catheter through the body's cardiovascular system. The system has received the CE Mark and is available for distribution in Europe.

The Melody valve and the Ensemble system are the products of Medtronic (Minneapolis, MN, USA).

"While the population that will benefit from this new technology is relatively small, Medtronic is committed to patient-centered lifetime management of congenital heart disease,” said Oern Stuge, M.D., a senior vice president and president of the cardiac surgery division at Medtronic. "By providing less-invasive options for physicians and therefore eliminating even one open-heart procedure for a patient, we improve that patient's quality of life immeasurably.”

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), congenital heart defects are the leading birth defect worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 25,000 babies are born each year with a congenital heart defect. Approximately 22% of these babies have defects disrupting the blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery.



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