Surgeons pilot expandable prosthetic valves for children with congenital heart disease

Surgeons at Boston Children’s Hospital have successfully implanted a modified version of a expandable prosthetic heart valve in several children with mitral valve disease. Unlike traditional prosthetic valves that have a fixed diameter, the expandable valve can be enlarged as a child grows, thus potentially avoiding the repeat valve replacement surgeries that are commonly required in a growing child. The new paradigm of expandable mitral valve replacement has potential to revolutionise care for infants and children with complex mitral valve disease.

The surgical team, led by Sitaram M. Emani, MD, and Pedro J. del Nido, MD, of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s, have summarised their outcomes with two patients.

The care of patients with disease of the mitral valve