In Padua, the first Italian implantation of the new tricuspid prosthesis

At Azienda Ospedale Università di Padova, the first implantation in Italy, following CE marking, of a new bioprosthesis for the percutaneous replacement of the tricuspid valve was successfully carried out.

The procedure, performed by the Interventional Haemodynamics and Cardiology Unit led by Professor Giuseppe Tarantini, represents a new therapeutic option for patients suffering from severe tricuspid regurgitation who, because of the size or particular anatomical shape of the valve, cannot undergo either traditional surgery or the transcatheter procedures available to date.
 

A new therapeutic option for the most complex cases

The patient treated had been deemed unsuitable for surgery and presented anatomical features that also made the other percutaneous techniques unfeasible. The new bioprosthesis, designed to adapt even to very dilated tricuspid valves and complex morphologies, made it possible to perform the procedure through a vein in the leg, reaching the heart without opening the chest and without leaving surgical scars.
 

A minimally invasive procedure through the leg

“The value of this technology lies not only in its novelty, but above all in the possibility of offering treatment to patients who previously had no viable alternatives,” emphasises Giuseppe Tarantini.

The procedure was carried out by Tarantini and his team together with the interventional echocardiography specialists, the anaesthetists, and the technical and nursing staff of the Cardiology Department of Azienda Ospedale Università di Padova.

The post-operative course was rapid: the patient was awakened after the procedure and discharged after two days, in good clinical condition and without surgical scars.
 

A new milestone for cardiology in Padua

The case represents the first procedure in Italy in the post-marketing phase following CE marking of the new prosthesis and broadens the treatment options for highly complex patients who until now had no adequate therapeutic alternatives.