Signaling a new frontier in the treatment of congenital heart disease (CHD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the first hospital in our region to implant transcatheter pulmonary heart valves in children with heart defects. This minimally invasive procedure gives patients a non-surgical option in their ongoing treatment.
The Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve benefits patients with congenital heart defects who have a previously placed surgical conduit between their right ventricle and pulmonary artery. It is needed when the valve function fails.
"There has been a long-standing need to identify a non-surgical option for patients with failed right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduits," said Jonathan Rome, M.D., director of cardiac catheterization at Children's Hospital. "These patients require several surgical interventions during their lifetime and the new procedure allows them to delay open-heart surgery for several years."
Delivered through a catheter requiring only a small incision, the valve will benefit children who are born with a malformation of their pulmonary valve, the valve between the heart and lungs. The majority of these children receive an RV to PA conduit early in their life (often within the first month of life). As patients outgrow their initial conduit, replacement is necessary.
These patients often require open-heart surgery to restore effective blood flow to their lungs. Previously, the only way to repair or replace a failed pulmonary valve conduit was through traditional valve replacement surgery, involving opening the chest and stopping the heart.
School-aged children, adolescents, and adults are the candidates for this procedure. A normal hospital stay is about one to two days after the procedure and children are able to resume normal activities within a week.
Female physicians may offer improved patient outcomes