Specialists at St Thomas Hospital have used new technology to perform ground-breaking keyhole surgery that allows them to install a synthetic valve in a beating heart.

The procedure to install the transcatheter mitral heart valve implants is a lifeline for
patients too ill to survive open heart surgery.

The team at St Thomas have performed three such implants in February and early March.
The operation involves replacing the heart’s damaged mitral valve with an artificial one,
under general anesthetic.

The mitral valve helps control blood flow through the heart and if damaged can cause
flooding of the lungs and heart failure.

Surgeons are now able to use keyhole surgery instead of open heart surgery to access the
heart, an operation that takes less than half the time, with the latest surgery complete in
just over half an hour.

The procedure involves using ultrasound and x-ray guidance technology, allowing the
team to perform the operation while watching on a large screen.

Before this development, open heart surgery was the only option in replacing the valve, a
procedure that involves stoping the heart and placing the patient on a heart-lung machine.
This is an operation assessed as too high risk for the sickest patients, leaving no cure
alternative.

The surgeons performing the procedures were Dr Martyn Thomas, Dr Ronak Rajani, Dr
Jane Hancock and Mr Vinnie Bapat, alongside their team.

Mr Bapat, a cardiac surgeon, explained: “Being able to replace the mitral heart valve
without open heart surgery will give our sickest patients a chance of survival and a better
quality of life.”

“Until now the only way to replace a mitral heart valve was open heart surgery. If patients
are too ill to undergo this surgery, nothing can be done apart from managing their
condition with medication.”

“We’ve demonstrated that this procedure is feasible and in future can save the lives of
similar patients in the UK and around the world”, Mr Bapat added.

“At this early stage we are pleased with the initial recovery of these patients. We will
closely monitor their progress and improvements in their quality of life.”

The procedures were given the go ahead on compassionate grounds by the Medicines
and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, due to the extensive previous experience of the heart
team in performing complex transcatheter heart valve procedures.

Medical director of Guy’s and St Thomas’, Dr Ian Abbs, said: “This development in cardiac
surgery is a huge step forward for the UK, proving our position at the forefront of medical
research and development to improve the care and save the lives of patients.”