AAP General News (Australia)
04-19-2011
FED:Tiny clip could spare open heart surgery
Thousands of patients could be saved open heart surgery by Perth-based doctors using
a small leg operation and a tiny device to close leaking heart valves.
Health care company Abbott has officially launched its MitraClip device .. a small
clip that closes off defective mitral valves in the heart .. via a catheter that enters
the femoral artery in the leg.
An untreated defective mitral valve can lead to heart failure.
The new procedure is minimally invasive .. with patients able to go home after two
nights in hospital compared to eight nights for open-heart surgery.
Heart doctors at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth have recently successfully
treated three patients with the device.
AAP RTV eb/klm/tm/psm/
KEYWORD: HEART SURGERY (SYDNEY)
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