Lankenau Medical Center’s Heart Team Successfully Performs 300th MitraClip™️ Device, A Non-Surgical Procedure for Mitral Regurgitation
Wynnewood, PA — Lankenau Medical Center’s Heart Valve team has successfully performed its 300th mitral valve repair using the innovative MitraClip™ procedure—a minimally invasive treatment option for people with a severe leak in the mitral valve who are too high-risk for traditional open-heart surgery or select heart patients who remain symptomatic despite guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). The condition, called mitral regurgitation (MR), is one of the most common heart valve diseases.
“Having been involved with the MitraClip technology since its early inception almost 20 years ago and through the many years of research that ultimately led to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2013. It is incredibly satisfying to see this transcatheter-based non-surgical therapy benefitting so many individual patients in life-changing ways,” says William Gray, MD, chief of Cardiovascular Diseases at Main Line Health and co-director of Lankenau Heart Institute.
A leak in the mitral valve occurs when the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve do not close completely, allowing blood to flow back into the heart as it pumps. The heart has to work harder, as a result, to keep blood flowing and can raise the risk for life-threatening stroke and heart failure. When MR becomes severe, it can profoundly affect a person’s quality-of-life by causing shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and other debilitating symptoms. If left untreated, MR can ultimately lead to heart failure and death.
For MR patients who are ineligible for surgery or select heart failure patients who remain symptomatic despite GDMT, the most advanced MitraClip system, MitraClip G4, offers a safe and effective treatment option that can improve quality of life.
The MitraClip device is delivered to the heart in a tube placed through a small puncture in the leg vein and clips portions of the leaflets of the mitral valve together to reduce the backflow of blood, restoring the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood more efficiently. Patients tend to have a short hospital stay – on average, one day – returning directly home in the majority of cases, and experience significant improvement in symptoms almost immediately. MitraClip is now on a fourth generation of innovations and offers new advancements and additional options for doctors treating mitral valve disease. The therapy has now treated over 100,000 patients worldwide over more than a decade.
“For more than 30 years, Lankenau has been a major referral center for patients with valvular heart disease, and we’ve been pioneers in the use of minimally invasive mitral valve repair. It is through clinical trials that we’re able to attract new patients by being able to offer the latest technology, procedures and devices that aren’t available elsewhere ,” said Scott Goldman, MD, Director, Structural Heart Program at Lankenau Heart Institute.
More information about MitraClip is available online at www.mainlinehealth.org/mitraclip.
About MitraClip
MitraClip is a small, clip-based device has proven to repair primary and secondary MR without the need for open-heart surgery. The device is delivered to the heart through a small incision in the leg and works by clipping together a portion of the leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce the backflow of blood, which allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently.
The MitraClip system has been commercially available in the U.S. since 2013 and in Europe since 2008. With more than 16 years of clinical experience and more than 100,000 patients treated worldwide, the MitraClip system is the first transcatheter mitral valve therapy with proven safety and the only with proven survival and durable clinical outcomes.
MitraClip was approved in the U.S. in 2013 for primary MR patients. In March 2019, FDA approved MitraClip for secondary MR patients based on results from the COAPT Trial, which investigated MitraClip for treating secondary MR. A landmark trial, COAPT showed a 47% relative reduction in hospitalizations and a 38% relative reduction in mortality. Both primary and secondary MR patients may benefit from MitraClip therapy based on this expanded indication for MitraClip.
Abbott is the global leader in developing transcatheter mitral valve technologies as alternatives to open-heart surgery. Building upon its success with the MitraClip device and many years of mitral valve experience and clinical evidence, Abbott is also leading the way in novel, transcatheter devices by investing in the development and clinical study of new mitral valve replacement technologies.
For more information on MitraClip, visit: www.structuralheartsolutions.com.
For U.S. Important Safety Information about MitraClip, visit: https://www.structuralheartsolutions.com/us/mitraclip-isi.
About Lankenau Heart Institute
The Lankenau Heart Institute is Main Line Health's premier comprehensive cardiovascular medicine and surgery program. Lankenau Heart Institute brings together the clinical expertise of all four Main Line Health acute care hospitals and both the employed and community cardiology practices to ensure that patients receive a level of quality, service and experience that is unparalleled in the region. Through the systemwide coordination of services, Lankenau Heart Institute delivers preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative cardiovascular services at each of our locations including Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital.
Lankenau Heart Institute continues to be an innovator in the use of beating-heart techniques and robotic-assisted procedures for coronary artery revascularization, minimally invasive and transcatheter approaches for valve repair and replacement, complex aortic surgery and heart rhythm disorders. With our growing experience and focus on minimally invasive techniques, Lankenau Heart Institute has expanded participation in clinical trials year after year. Our physicians are frequently invited to participate in clinical/medical device trials, many of which are designed to facilitate the use of minimally invasive approaches and procedures.
With a collaborative team of expert consultative cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and specially trained advance practice nurses and technologists, Lankenau Heart Institute is dedicated to managing and treating patients with simple to complex cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, aortic disease, coronary and peripheral vascular disease, lipid and genetic abnormalities, heart rhythm disorders and valve disease. Our team of cardiologists and cardiac and vascular specialists provide patients and their families with expert cardiovascular care, close to home.