Transcatheter Mitral Valve repair
With Transcatheter Mitral Valve repair (TMVr), a new treatment paradigm has been established during the last decade. This new kind of procedure places a structural implant via a tube (transcatheter) into the targeted heart valve. The catheter is inserted through a small incision at the groin and moved along the blood vessels. After placing the structural repair implant through the catheter, the delivery mechanism is withdrawn through the same blood vessel. This delivery approach redundantizes the need for a surgical procedure to open the heart, shifting the "Gold Standard" from heart surgery to interventional cardiology.
The obvious advantages to the patient, such as less trauma and reduced hospital stay, have resulted in fast adoption of TMVr: introduced barely a decade ago, approx. 50,000 patients chose TMVr over surgery in 2020.