Longview Regional Successfully Performs the Region’s First Minimally Invasive Procedure for Severe Mitral Regurgitation to Correct a Serious Heart Valve Condition

LONGVIEW, TX – (September 16, 2019) Longview Regional became the first hospital in East Texas to treat mitral regurgitation using transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) in July 2019. The procedure was performed by Longview Regional’s cardiologist Samir Germanwala, D.O., and Cardiovascular Surgeon, David Jayakar, M.D.

The mitral valve, is located between the two left chambers of the heart, and has two flaps of tissue, called leaflets. When functioning correctly, the leaflets open and close ensure that blood flows in only one direction. When the mitral valve fails to close completely, mitral regurgitation occurs, causing blood to leak backward into the heart. Mitral regurgitation can cause complications by forcing the heart and lungs to work harder than normal, which may cause some patients to develop an enlarged heart over time— if left untreated, more serious problems to the heart, such as heart failure, may occur. Prior to this procedure, open-heart mitral valve surgery was the only treatment option for this condition, but for some patients, due to age, advanced heart failure, or other serious medical conditions, that is not a viable option. TMVR provides a less invasive treatment option for those patients who may not be eligible for traditional open-heart surgery.

During the procedure, the physician accesses the heart through a vein in the patient’s leg and inserts a thin wire called a catheter. The device is implanted onto the mitral valve clipping together a small area of the valve. While the valve continues to open and close on either side of the clip, blood flows on both sides of the clip reducing the flow of blood in the wrong direction.

The therapy is delivered via a catheter-based approach without a median sternotomy or the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

“The Longview Regional Medical Center Heart and Vascular team is proud to offer this breakthrough technology for patients to the region. Longview Regional is currently the only facility offering this procedure between Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana,” Germanwala said.

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