Doctors use new technique on cardiac patient
Tuesday 7th April 2009
Cardiac specialists in the UK have trialled a new surgical technique.
Medical professionals at King's College Hospital in London carried out keyhole surgery to replace an old prosthetic heart valve on a 78-year-old man, the BBC reports.
The patient's valve, which had been inserted using open heart surgery in 2002, began to fail last year resulting in fainting and breathlessness.
Surgeons decided he was too frail to undergo further open heart procedures and so conducted a transapical aortic valve replacement.
The team involved in the operation passed the valve directly through the chest wall into the bottom of the heart.
Olaf Wendler, the surgeon who conducted the procedure, said: "We are very excited about what this could mean for patients at King's and other hospitals."
He added that the operation was a "major achievement" and could help to prolong and enhance the lives of many patients.
King's College Hospital has roots tracing back to 1840 and it opened its newest wing in 2003.
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