TVT2017: Experimental transcatheter device yields consistent, positive outcomes for patients

An experimental transcatheter device by Canada-based Neovasc, used to treat mitral regurgitation, was shown to be effective in treating a patient with several severe heart conditions.

The Tiara, still an investigational device, was shown in a presentation by Shmuel Banai, MD, the director of interventional cardiology at the Tel Aviv Medical Center and Neovasc’s medical director, at this year’s Transcatheter Valve Therapies (TVT) conference.

The device was implanted in a 79-year-old man in Lugano, Switzerland, who had ischemic cardiomyopathy, poor left ventricular function and severe mitral valve regurgitation. Physicians used a 35mm Tiara device on the patient, and the procedure was completed in 30 minutes. Seven weeks after the procedure, the patient was at home recovering well.

"This case highlights two critical aspects of the Tiara,” said Neovasc CEO Alexei Marko in a statement. “One, it clearly demonstrates the Tiara's medical role in very damaged and sick heart that simply are not candidates for conventional surgery, a patient pool that is unfortunately already large and growing. Two, the audience witnessed the elegant simplicity of this implantation procedure. Combined, these two themes underscore the Tiara's potential for the medical community and patients suffering from mitral regurgitation."

The Tiara has only been used in 30 patients in experimental settings across North American and Europe. Outcomes for patients who have received the Tiara have remained positive, and the company is working to get it approved for use in countries around the world.