Scripps MD First in County to Fix Leaky Aortic Valve With New Device

Minimally invasive procedures have revolutionized the treatment of heart valve diseases over the last decade, extending the lives of patients and greatly improving their quality of life. But one group has been left out of this great medical leap forward -those with a certain type of leaky aortic valve who are too sick to undergo open-heart surgery.

Now, those patients have a new life-saving option following the recent approval of the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) implant to treat severe aortic regurgitation (AR) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Scripps Clinic cardiologists and 22 of their patients participated in the pivotal clinical trial that validated the Trilogy device made by JenaValve based in Irvine.

And on April 21, Scripps Clinic interventional cardiologist Curtiss Stinis, MD, became the first doctor in San Diego County to implant the valve in a patient following its clearance for commercial use in the United States.

During a one-hour catheterization laboratory procedure at the Scripps Clinic John R. Anderson V Medical Pavilion on the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus, Dr. Stinis used a catheter to thread the replacement valve through a small incision in the patient's groin, up the femoral artery and into the heart as it continued to beat normally, where the new valve was opened and anchored in place. The patient went home the following morning.

"The Trilogy valve has the potential to change the lives of patients who haven't had any other options for reversing this life-threatening disease," said Stinis, who served as the lead investigator at Scripps. "Through the clinical trial and now with the first procedures following FDA approval, Scripps continues its longstanding commitment to providing our patients with the latest innovations available in medicine."

AR is the third most common heart valve disease, according to a study published in 2022 by the peer-reviewed medical journal Open Heart, and its prevalence has increased as the U.S. population has become older.

AR occurs when the valve between the lower left heart chamber and the body's main artery doesn't close tightly, causing some of the blood to leak backwards into the left ventricle. By making the heart work harder, aortic regurgitation can cause a range of symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, lightheadedness, swelling in the ankles and feet, and an irregular heartbeat. Eventually, the problem can lead to heart failure and even death.