Heart valve was replaced and discharged in 2 days.

A 78-year-old female heart patient, who underwent a heart valve replacement through a ‘Tricvalve’ procedure via the groin, regained her health in 2 days.
In the capital, a 78-year-old female patient with heart valve disease had surgery deemed risky due to her advanced age. She quickly recovered with the ‘Tricvalve’ procedure. The heart valve replacement was performed by Prof. Dr. Erdoğan İlkay, a specialist in Cardiology and Structural Heart Diseases, using a needle inserted through the groin.
Among the first in Turkey
Dr. İlkay, who applied the method that is among the first 5 cases in Turkey, performed the procedure of placing a new valve in the ‘Vena Cava Superior,’ the largest vein in the chest and abdomen that collects blood from the upper body, through the vein coming from the lower part of the abdomen.
The patient, whose Mitral heart valve, one of the four valves ensuring the proper flow of blood in the heart, had been replaced previously, was treated when similar complaints were observed in the Tricuspid valve. Prof. Dr. Erdoğan İlkay and Assoc. Dr. Ersin Sarıçam, specialists in Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Diseases, took charge of the patient’s treatment.
The doctors resorted to the ‘Tricvalve’ procedure, which has recently started to be implemented in Turkey. With this method, a needle was inserted into the patient’s groin, allowing for the heart valve located in the vein that travels through the abdomen to reach the heart to be replaced. Following the successful intervention, the patient regained her health and was discharged from the hospital within 2 days.
Risky surgery was avoided
Dr. İlkay noted that the patient had a significant leak in the valve on the right side of her heart, stating, “This is what we call Tricuspid valve leakage. We have been performing Mitral valve replacements through the groin for years in cases of other valve leaks or stenoses. However, unfortunately, we had no serious alternatives for these Tricuspid valve leaks on the right heart other than surgical procedures. The TriClip (non-surgical heart valve repair) method does not yield good results in the Tricuspid valve like it does in the Mitral valve. Patients without surgical alternatives had to live with constant swelling, edema, abdominal fluid accumulation known as ascites, and significant edema in the legs. However, this treatment is a method that has been applied for about 2 years and has shown clinical improvement results. Our patient was treated as the 5th or 6th case in our country. We performed the procedure of placing a new valve in the ‘Vena Cava Superior,’ the largest vein in the chest and abdomen that collects blood from the upper body, through the vein coming from the lower abdomen. This method relies on performing it via the groin without opening the chest. In this way, the backward leak from the right side of the heart is prevented from flowing back up or down in the body.”