Stern Cardiovascular Foundation doctors recently started the MitraClip Therapy program for patients suffering from mitral regurgitation (MR), a debilitating, progressive, and life-threatening disease in which a leaky mitral valve causes a backward flow of blood in the heart.
The first two cases were successfully completed at Baptist Memphis, making it the first and only program in the Mid-South.
“Baptist has had a valve program for years, but this is just a natural extension of that so we can now treat patients with advanced valve diseases using up-to-date technology,” said Basil Paulus, M.D., a cardiologist at Stern.
The MitraClip Therapy program is an alternative to the standard treatment option of open heart surgery. The MitraClip can repair the mitral valve without the need for an invasive surgical procedure. Once delivered to the heart through the femoral vein in the leg, the MitraClip clips together a portion of the leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce the backflow of blood. The heart can now pump blood more efficiently, relieving symptoms and improving the patient’s quality of life.
“This new procedure gives patients with MR a more hopeful option, especially if they don’t qualify for open heart surgery because of certain prohibitive risks,” said Dr. Paulus.
World-renowned cardiologist James Hermiller, MD, from the St. Vincent Heart Center in Indiana came in to assist the Stern doctors with training and any questions that arose during the week.
“Dr. Hermiller is an expert in the field, so we were extremely thankful to have him here giving us guidance throughout the procedures,” said Jay Gardner, MD, a cardiologist at Stern. “This technology is exciting, and I think our patients are going to show increased interest in this treatment.”
Mary Sellers was one of the first patients to receive the MitraClip Therapy from Dr. Gardner and Dr. Paulus at Baptist Memphis. She said that she had never been sick a day in her life until March 2014 when she began having difficulty breathing.
“When the doctors first told me about the MitraClip, I was willing to take that chance. I was so miserable because I could barely breathe,” said Sellers. “They saved my life, and if anyone is going through what happened to me, I say go for it.”