With permission from the patient to post, this active 77-year-old man from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was troubled by severe tricuspid valve regurgitation secondary to chronic atrial fibrillation.

His symptoms included extreme tiredness, shortness of breath with activity, and swelling in his abdomen and legs.

In his words, he “wanted to avoid surgery at all costs,” so he was referred by his cardiologist in Harrisburg to a hospital in the Philadelphia to be part of a research study for a new percutaneous tricuspid valve procedure. When the patient was randomized to medical therapy instead of corrective surgery, he sought a second surgical option.

The patient came to Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital (Jefferson Health) and underwent a tricuspid valve repair via a sternotomy, using the heart-lung machine, but without stopping the heart —beating heart technique.

The tricuspid valve was successfully repaired and he is ready for discharge to home on the 5th post-operative day, reporting an immediate improvement in his symptoms and minimal to no incisional discomfort.

Conventional tricuspid valve repair remains the gold standard for patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation, who are active and low-risk for surgery.