Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve therapy was first performed in England in 2000, but wasn't approved for use in the United States until January 2010.
A year later, UMC's Dr. Ricardo Samson and Dr. G. Michael Nichols completed their training and in April performed the first such procedure in Arizona.
In addition to rapid results, the upsides of TPV therapy include a shorter hospital stay (just one night in most cases), a full recovery within a week, and reduced risk and pain overall, Samson said.
It all comes down to the methodology.
"This procedure goes through a blood vessel in the leg or in the neck, and we snake our way with a catheter - a long tube - up into the area where the pulmonary valve is," said Samson, 47, a UMC doctor since 1994.
"We are able to implant a valve right in the place where the old conduit is -the artificial tube with a valve inside - going from the right side of the heart to the lungs."
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This option isn't available for all pulmonary patients.
"It's limited to patients with specific heart conditions whereby they've had surgery before to place a conduit," Samson said. "That artificial tube wears out anywhere from seven to 10 years, and traditionally when that conduit wore out, it had to be surgically replaced through an open-heart surgery."
Melody TPV therapy belongs to Medtronic, a company that partners with doctors and research groups to create new technologies for various chronic diseases.
For more information, go to www.medtronic.com
Kelly Hultgren
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