Jan 17, 2008 10:18 pm US/Eastern
Revolutionary Heart Procedure Gives Boy 2nd Chance
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Touted as a medical breakthrough by some and first in South Florida and the world by others, a new heart procedure for a 9-year old boy from Gainesville means a second chance at life.
Charles Anderson was born with a rare congenital heart defect called Epstein's Anomaly which affects the tricuspid valve--located between the heart's right atrium and right ventricle. In people with the anomaly, the valve is severely deformed and displaced.
"I was getting out of breath and all that," said Charlie.Diagnosed with the heart defect at birth, Charlie has undergone five open-heart surgeries to replace the tricuspid valve, including one when he was only days old. Following the last surgery, the boy suffered a stroke as his health continued to worsen. In laymen's term, his valve is leaky and needs to be replaced.
The Anderson family sought help from heart surgeons across the country, but was told open heart surgery on the boy in his current state would be too dangerous.
They finally received some good news when they contacted Dr. Evan Zahn, Chief of Cardiology at Miami Children's Hospital's Congenital Heart Institute. He told them of the possibility of replacing the valve not by surgery but by using catheter through the neck, a minimally-invasive procedure that had never been done before. The family agreed.
"Charles had few options left," said Dr. Zahn. "Traditional open heart surgery would have been too risky and our group saw this innovative procedure as a potential life-saving measure for this little boy. It's exciting and nerve wracking when you line yourself up to do something that has never been done before."
After receiving permission from the manufacturer of replacement valve and the catheter delivery system they intended to use, Zahn and his team performed the world's first non-surgical tricuspid valve replacement via catheter. The procedure took just over four hours and two days later Charlie was out of the hospital, with only a small bandage.
Cardiac specialists say of the four heart valves; the pulmonary valve, aortic valve, and mitral valve, the tricuspid valve has always been the most complicated to treat. They say this procedure marks a major breakthrough in the treatment of tricuspid valve disease.
This is the first child to receive this treatment so doctors say they don't know how effective the results will be, but it's something that gives Charlie and his family hope.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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