Medical City Fort Worth Performs First Tricuspid Valve Repair in Tarrant County
Minimally invasive procedure aims to prevent heart failure
Fort Worth, TX – A 69-year-old woman from Fort Worth is back to living a full and active life after becoming the first in Tarrant County to benefit from a percutaneous tricuspid valve repair performed at Medical City Fort Worth. This minimally invasive procedure is an important advance because it can eliminate the need for open heart surgery.
Tricuspid valve disease occurs when the heart's tricuspid valve fails to close completely, causing blood to flow in the wrong direction. This can potentially lead to life-threatening heart failure. Symptoms include:
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, feet and abdomen
- Fatigue, weakness
- Shortness of breath
A multidisciplinary team, including interventional cardiologists and cardiac imagers, used leading-edge 4D intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) technology, which uses sound waves to produce images, for enhanced precision.
“This important milestone demonstrates our commitment to offering the most advanced cardiac care to our patients,” says Farhan Ali, MD, medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Medical City Fort Worth. “Our ability to treat all major heart valves using minimally invasive techniques truly sets us apart, providing patients with systems of care that provide better outcomes and faster recoveries.”
Medical City Fort Worth’s structural heart program is the only comprehensive program in Fort Worth and Tarrant County capable of treating all major heart valves through minimally invasive procedures. The program is a pioneer in regionally, performing Fort Worth’s first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and left atrial appendage closure nearly a decade ago.
“Medical City Fort Worth is proud to lead the way in advanced structural heart care,” says John Hoover, Medical City Fort Worth’s CEO. “This achievement is another reason our community turns to us as the destination of choice for heart care excellence in Fort Worth and beyond.”
For more information about the Structural Heart Program at Medical City Fort Worth, click here.