Four patients underwent minimally invasive mitral valve repair at the Scientific Research Institute of Cardiology and Internal Diseases, the Ministry of Health reports, according to infohub.kz.
The mitral valve sits between the left atrium and left ventricle and allows blood to flow in only one direction.
All the patients were at high surgical risk, making conventional open-heart surgery contraindicated for them.
The procedures were performed as part of a master class on transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER).
With the TEER method, surgeons do not open the chest or use cardiopulmonary bypass. A thin catheter is inserted through the femoral vein into the heart and used to deliver a special clip to the mitral valve. The clip joins the anterior and posterior leaflets of the valve and reduces blood regurgitation. The institute has performed procedures using this technology before.
"The distinctive feature of this operation is that it is performed under ultrasound guidance of the heart without contrast. Using transesophageal ultrasound, we can examine the heart structure in greater detail. We also use 3D imaging of the mitral valve, and under its guidance the clip is positioned in the right place," said Akzhan Konysbekova, head of the Department of Functional and Ultrasound Diagnostics at the institute.
According to Aleksei Yevgenyevich, head of the X-ray Endovascular Operating Unit at the institute, patients recover quickly after this procedure and can get out of bed the very next day.
During the master class, specialists also discussed the use of the new DragonFly transcatheter mitral valve repair system. Professor Wang Jian'an, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, presented his experience in its development and clinical application.
Together with foreign experts, Kazakh cardiologists discussed the technical aspects of the procedure and selected patients for the interventions.