St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Implants 50th Pulmonary Valve Without Open-Heart Surgery

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is among a small number of facilities in the country to offer the less-invasive, breakthrough procedure that can improve life for children with several types of congenital heart defects.

News provided by

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital

Oct 30, 2014, 05:14 ET

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thirteen-year-old Cyrus Yarley was born with multiple heart defects and underwent open-heart surgery at just 1 week old then again at age 8. His mother, Valorie Daniels, knew the day would come when Cyrus would need to have his pulmonary valve replaced, and has anticipated another open-heart surgery for the past five years.

Thirteen-year-old Cyrus Yarley, who was born with multiple heart defects, was the 50th patient at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital to receive the Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve. St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa is among a small number of facilities in the country to offer the less-invasive, breakthrough procedure that can improve life for children with several types of congenital heart defects.

Dr. Jeremy Ringewald, a pediatric cardiologist at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa, replaces 13-year-old Cyrus Yarley's dysfunctional pulmonary valve with the Melody Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is the highest volume Melody valve implanting center in Florida and one of the busiest in the United States.

But during a recent doctor's appointment, the family received unexpected news: Cyrus' didn't need another incision to repair his heart thanks to the use of an innovative medical device at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. On Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, Cyrus was the 50^th patient at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital to receive the Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve. After inserting a catheter into a vein in the upper leg, pediatric cardiologist Dr. Jeremy Ringewald guided the Melody valve up to Cyrus' heart and replaced his current dysfunctional pulmonary valve.

The Melody valve, from Medtronic, is the first medical device of its kind to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The valve replaces narrow or leaky pulmonary valved conduits – tubes connecting the heart to the lung arteries – in children or adults who have previously undergone congenital heart surgery. St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is the highest volume Melody valve implanting center in Florida and one of the busiest in the United States.

"Children born with blocked or leaky heart valves usually undergo multiple open-heart surgeries before reaching adulthood to replace conduits that have worn out or that they have outgrown," said Dr. Ringewald. "This groundbreaking technology can markedly prolong the time between surgeries for many patients, with the goal of maximizing heart health and minimizing invasiveness."

According to Dr. Ringewald, the Melody valve procedure is typically performed under general anesthesia in less than four hours. Unlike open-heart surgical procedures, where the hospital stay is approximately a week, patients are usually discharged from the hospital within 24 hours.

"Cyrus spent weeks in the hospital after both of his open-heart surgeries, so we were more than ecstatic to learn that he was a candidate for this alternative treatment," said his mother. "Today's procedure went well and Cyrus is scheduled to go home tomorrow and will most likely be back at school on Monday."

While Melody valve therapy cannot be used in all cases of abnormal pulmonary valve function, it can give doctors an alternative to repeated traditional open-heart procedures, offering children and adults who may not be able to tolerate another open-heart surgery hope for the future.

For nearly two decades, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has provided a full spectrum of pediatric cardiac services, from less-invasive diagnostic catheterization, nonsurgical valve replacement and electrophysiology studies, to cardiovascular surgery for the rarest and most complex congenital heart defects. A new partnership between St. Joseph's Children's Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC brings the expertise of some of the country's top-ranking pediatric heart surgeons to our community, providing families across Florida with unprecedented access to the highest level of pediatric heart care available.

For more information on the Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve and whether it is a treatment option for you or your child, please call (813) 872-2924.

About St. Joseph's Children's Hospital
As Tampa's only dedicated children's hospital, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is designed to meet the unique needs of children and their families by providing high-tech pediatric health care in a family-centered, child-friendly environment. Part of the BayCare Health System, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is the third largest children's hospital in Florida, providing more acute medical and surgical pediatric care than all other hospitals in Hillsborough County.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141030/155669
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141030/155670

SOURCE St. Joseph's Children's Hospital