"Some 40,000 babies with the defects are born each year in the United States. Many have no pulmonary valve, which carries blood from the heart's right ventricle to the lungs, or only a very small pulmonary valve.Some patients receive a connecting tube, or conduit, early in life, to provide blood flow. The conduits, typically made from cadaver pulmonary valves, from pig valves or bioprosthetic materials, are implanted during open heart surgery and essentially bypass the missing or inadequate pulmonary valve.But the conduits over time can become leaky and narrowed, putting stress on the right ventricle and preventing it from squeezing properly. As a result, patients can develop abnormal life-threatening heart rhythms and symptoms such as inability to exercise. At that point, patients have traditionally required open heart surgery to replace the pulmonary valve. But such surgery, which requires cutting open the rib cage to get direct access to the heart, causes scar tissue that makes future surgery much more difficult. Medtronic's Melody valve is meant to provide additional blood flow when conduits become faulty, and thereby delay the need for more open heart surgery. " - Reuters.
This new device has successfully worked in over 95% of patients.
This new device has successfully worked in over 95% of patients.
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