Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists cardiologist Matthew Chung, MD, performed the Richmond area’s first transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement procedures using the Edwards Evoque system April 29 at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
Dr. Chung, director of the structural heart program for Bon Secours Mercy Health in Richmond, led the multidisciplinary team alongside Manu Kaushik, MD, an interventional cardiologist.
The Evoque system replaces the tricuspid valve through a vein in the groin without opening the chest — the first transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement therapy cleared for patients with symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation who remain symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy.
Tricuspid regurgitation occurs when the tricuspid valve fails to close properly, allowing blood to flow backward and causing shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling. The condition often affects older patients or those with comorbidities who are poor candidates for open-heart surgery.
“This fills a void for patients where there really wasn’t a good option previously,” Dr. Chung said. “Being able to offer a minimally invasive valve replacement gives us another way to help patients who remain symptomatic despite medical therapy.”
The first Richmond patient treated, an 83-year-old woman, has since returned to gardening and managing stairs at home, according to the release. “Those things were just harder before,” she said.
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