Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane has become the first hospital in Queensland to join a global clinical trial that uses keyhole surgery to replace the mitral valve—offering an alternative to traditional open-heart surgery.
The hospital successfully treated its first two patients using the minimally invasive method, known as Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR), in November 2024. This marked the beginning of the Queensland phase of a worldwide study aimed at expanding safer, less invasive heart procedures.
Associate Professor Anthony Camuglia, a leading cardiologist involved in the trial, said that reducing the need for open-heart surgery is a key goal in modern cardiac care.
“There are many advantages to using the transcatheter technique,” he said. “The most important is that patients can avoid going on a heart-lung machine, which is necessary during open-heart surgery and leads to a long recovery.”
TMVR is performed by guiding a replacement valve to the heart through a vein and an artery in the patient’s leg. The procedure avoids a large chest incision and typically leads to faster recovery, fewer complications, and reduced risks compared to open-heart surgery.
Cardiac specialists have already adopted this approach for other heart procedures, such as unblocking arteries, aortic valve replacements, and valve repairs. However, while catheter-based aortic valve replacements are now routine, mitral valve replacements are less common. Around 200 to 300 Queensland patients require a mitral valve replacement each year.
Dr Camuglia noted that TMVR provides a vital option for patients who are not suitable for traditional surgery due to age or other health problems.
Eighty-year-old Barry Evans from New Beith was the first Queensland patient to receive the TMVR procedure at Princess Alexandra Hospital. He said the keyhole surgery changed his life.
“I had a triple bypass in 1999, and the recovery was brutal,” Mr. Evans recalled. “I don’t remember the heart attack, but I do remember spending three months in recovery. I couldn’t work or sleep—it was a very hard time.”
“With this new procedure, I left the hospital on the third day. There was no pain in recovery. Even though I’m older and still managing other conditions like prostate cancer and Crohn’s disease, the quick recovery made a big difference to my life.”
Princess Alexandra Hospital is part of a national network conducting the trial, working alongside other top cardiac centers, including The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. The international trial also includes sites in North America and Europe.
Dr Camuglia emphasized that the success of the procedure depended on a strong team effort. “These first cases were possible because of the outstanding work from our team of nurses, technicians, cardiac physiologists, radiographers, surgeons, anaesthetists, and cardiologists,” he said.
The program is led by a team of specialists including Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr Chris Cole, Cardiac Anaesthetist Dr Nathan James, and Cardiologists Dr Yash Singbal, Dr Adrian Chong, Dr Reza Reyaldeen, and Associate Professor Anthony Camuglia.
The clinical trial is also supported by the Princess Alexandra Hospital Heart Lung Research Centre. Heart Valve Nurse Co-ordinator Kellee Korver, research nurses Cindy Hall and Juan Xiou, and Fellow Dr Christina Mew are also key contributors.
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