First Patients in the World with Groundbreaking Heart Surgery Are Healthy at Home

INDIANAPOLIS, May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The first patient in the world to receive a tissue-engineered regenerative CorMatrix® ECM® Tricuspid Valve has been released home in good health reported Marc Gerdisch, MD, FACS, FACC, the surgeon in the groundbreaking case. The 44-year-old patient, Chad, was the first to be enrolled in the FDA study, which will include up to 15 patients nationwide.

According to Dr. Gerdisch, chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis where the procedure was performed, the innovative surgery fills a gap in the treatment of tricuspid valve disease, as current replacement valves were designed and tested for the other side of the heart.

The CorMatrix® ECM® Tricuspid Valve is constructed from the CorMatrix® ECM® material. The remodeled valve allows the patient's cells to infiltrate and remodel over time into a fully functioning tricuspid valve, leaving no foreign body behind and requiring no long-term anti-coagulation therapy, as is the case with all mechanical or prosthetic valve designs.

When Chad came to the Franciscan St. Francis emergency room, his infected tricuspid valve was no longer functioning and was throwing infected debris into his lungs.

"Chad's surgery went very well. He recovered very quickly, and his echocardiograms thus far have looked perfect," Dr. Gerdisch continued.

Dr. Gerdisch is a pioneer in the use of the CorMatrix material for valve repair. He was the first surgeon in the world to implant CorMatrix in the human heart. He built a construct similar to the CorMatrix ECM Tricuspid Valve in the OR prior to the introduction of the device in the study. Dr. Gerdisch went on to publish this work along with several other surgeons, which lead to the FDA trial.

The first patient who underwent this earlier procedure with Dr. Gerdisch is thriving more than three years after surgery.

John had just turned 19 when he became gravely ill with an infected valve. Today, he is finishing his degree, rock climbing, weightlifting and enjoying the life of a healthy young man.

"Not only is this a meaningful step forward for the treatment of tricuspid valve disease, it will serve as a platform for similar procedures with other heart valves," Dr. Gerdisch explained. "In fact, we are in the process of evaluating a version that won't require open heart surgery."

SOURCE Franciscan St. Francis

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