Minimally invasive procedures that save more lives
Minimally invasive procedures are providing a life-saving option for patients too frail to undergo open-heart surgery. A pioneer and global leader in this area, Sunnybrook continues to research and implement new technology and treatments to benefit critically ill cardiac patients. Some procedures are now funded by government, thanks to initial donor investment, while others are only possible thanks to donor funding.
TAVI
Thanks to the generous upfront investment of donors, a procedure pioneered at Sunnybrook is now saving the lives of patients with deteriorating aortic valves with government support. Conventional treatment is open-heart surgery. For those not healthy enough for the procedure, the only option is transcatheter aortic valve implementation (TAVI).
Using a small incision, a team of specialists insert and advance a catheter through the body to the heart where the new valve is put in place. The procedure takes about half as long as conventional surgery. Patients can go home after a few days and often return to normal activities within a few months. Donor support was crucial in confirming the value of TAVI to secure government funding. Sunnybrook is now Ontario’s largest program for TAVI, and we continue to advance research and test new generations of devices to improve treatments for critically ill heart patients.
MitraClip
For patients with a faulty mitral valve, the flaps don’t close properly, causing blood to flow backward. The decreased blood flow to the body leads to extreme fatigue, and even short walks or climbing the stairs can become difficult. Using a small catheter to reach the heart through a blood vessel in the leg, the surgeon deploys the MitraClip to clip the faulty flaps together, restoring blood flow. Before the device, a third of all patients who needed mitral valve repair were turned away as too high risk.
Since 2011, Sunnybrook heart experts have repaired the mitral valves of more than 110 critically ill patients with MitraClips, thanks to donor support. Based on the evidence of success, the government now fully funds 40 MitraClip procedures a year, the largest volume in the province, and all thanks to initial donor investment.
The Watchman Device
The Schulich Heart Centre was one of the first in Canada to offer a procedure to reduce stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke and heart failure. For patients who can’t take blood thinners, the usual treatment, there was no other option.
Blood clots often develop in a pouch near the heart of people with this condition. If the clots enter the bloodstream, they can travel to the brain and cause a stroke. Our cardiologists insert a small device by catheter, called the Watchman, to seal off the opening of the pouch, and the patient’s risk of stroke is reduced by two-thirds. This treatment is only available to patients through donor support.