New type of heart valve surgery performed in Szeged

The insufficiency of the bicuspid heart valve - or mitral valve - puts a significant strain on the circulation of the lungs and contributes to the accumulation of pulmonary edema, which can lead to severe choking. Until recently, the procedure required in this case could only be performed with open-heart surgery with enormous strain and risk.

Doctors at the University of Szeged used a special device to eliminate the disorder by catheterization without opening the chest. Thanks to the technological developments of SZTE, the two poorly closing sails of the mitral valve were brought together using a device delivered to the left atrium of the heart from the femoral vein, thus reducing and eliminating the amount of abnormal blood flow back from the ventricle to the atrium. Head of the department, Zoltán Ruzsa, together with Zoltán Jambrik, performed the second such operation this spring. The medical team in Szeged was assisted in the intervention by László Gellér, a professor at Semmelweis University (SE).

After the procedure, the severe insufficiency of the mitral valve disappears, so that the patient's physical performance can improve afterward, and the threat of pulmonary edema, which causes significant suffocation, is greatly reduced. Similar surgeries were previously performed in only three places in Hungary - at the Semmelweis University, the Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Center, and the University of Debrecen.

With the development of technology, more and more heart diseases can be treated with a catheter method, that have previously required open-heart surgery. Catheter treatment of aortic valve stenosis is already part of the daily routine at SZTE, while the number of such interventions on the bicuspid heart valve has only recently begun to increase worldwide. However, the application of catheter techniques is not possible in all patients and all cases of heart disease. Choosing these techniques is a medical task that requires significant experience - explained Albert Varga, head of the Cardiology Center of the Department of Internal Medicine of the University of Szeged.

Via MTI and University of Szeged

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