Members of the team at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, from left: Lucy Safi, DO, FACC, FASE, FSCAI, Sahil Khera, MD, MPH, Gilbert H.L. Tang, MD, MBA, MSc, Stamatios Lerakis, MD, PhD, David H. Adams, MD, Samin K. Sharma, MD, Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, Parasuram Krishnamoorthy, MD, and Jin Kang, MD.
A team at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital has achieved a groundbreaking milestone, with Gilbert H.L. Tang, MD, MBA, MSc, Surgical Director of the Structural Heart Program, and Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and team performing one of the first tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) procedures in the United States with a newly Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy.
This new therapy revolutionizes the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation, a condition in which the valve between the two right heart chambers (right ventricle and right atrium) doesn’t close properly, allowing blood to flow backward into the right atrium of the heart. This minimally invasive therapy repairs the tricuspid valve without the need for open-heart surgery.
“Having a first transcatheter repair device approved for patients with tricuspid regurgitation is a game changer,” says Dr. Tang. “We have already performed several procedures since FDA approval and their recoveries have truly been remarkable.”
“The tricuspid TEER therapy will be a life saver for many patients who can’t undergo open heart surgery,” says Samin K. Sharma, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiology for Mount Sinai Health System.
David H. Adams, MD, Cardiac Surgeon-in-Chief of the Mount Sinai Health System, was one of the two national co-principal investigators who ran the clinical trial that secured FDA approval for tricuspid TEER. Trial results showed its safety, and found that it reduced the severity of tricuspid regurgitation and enhanced quality of life for patients.
“As we celebrate this pivotal moment, we’re filled with gratitude for the dedication of our team at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital,” says Dr. Sharma. “Together, we’re shaping a future where innovative treatments bring hope and healing to those in need.”