August 28, 2014 — The University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center is the first heart center in the nation to perform percutaneous implantation of the Edwards Sapien valve to replace a patient’s tricuspid valve. Cardiac surgeon Steven Bolling, M.D., interventional cardiologist Stanley Chetcuti, M.D., interventional cardiologist Daniel Menees, M.D., and cardiac surgeon Matthew Romano, M.D., successfully completed the procedure Aug. 11.
Because of the less invasive approach, the 47-year-old patient was discharged after only a two-day hospital stay. “Minimally invasive surgery for tricuspid valve replacement is a new solution for the dilemma of treating valve disease in which repeat surgeries are often needed but problematic,” said Bolling, director of the U-M Mitral Valve Clinic. “This was a rewarding result for all of us.”
Compared to the rapid expansion of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures, transcatheter tricuspid valve-in-valve implantation is just beginning.
The U-M cardiac team replaced the patient’s diseased heart valve to improve blood flow on the right side of the heart. Tricuspid valve stenosis had caused the valve to narrow. Adding to the complexity, her heart valve had been replaced before using animal tissue.
For more information: www.umcvc.org
May 28, 2025 
