The newly commercially certified Venus P-Valve for transcatheter pulmonary valve implantations will be available at Sidra Medicine — the first hospital in the Middle East and North Africa region to acquire the certification.
Patients with damaged pulmonary valves can employ the artificial valve, a minimally invasive treatment.
A group of international cardiac interventionalists from Asia, Europe, Qatar, and South America participated in clinical studies to assess the Venus P-Valve, with Prof. Ziyad M. Hijazi, chief medical officer at Sidra Medicine, serving as the global main investigator.
The Gulf nation was one of the first in the world to carry out clinical trials in 2017 in partnership with Sidra Medicine and Hamad Medical Corporation.
Recently, a patient in Qatar had the newly certified Venus P-valve implanted by Professor Hijazi and Professor Younes Boudjemline from the Heart Centre.
“This has been an exciting and collaborative journey of success of a new artificial valve that has moved from research and development to becoming a commercially certified product. Since attaining European CE certification, the valve has been assessed to meet safety, health, and environmental protection requirements,” said Prof Hijazi.
“This has expanded the range of minimally invasive valve implantation options for cardiac patients worldwide.”
In pulmonary valve disease, the lung (pulmonary) valve, which is situated between the right ventricle of the heart and the pulmonary artery, malfunctions. The illness could cause an interruption in the flow of blood from the heart to the lungs.
Only 25% to 30% of patients with damaged pulmonary valves can currently be treated with artificial valves on the market. The self-expanding Venus P-Valve, which ensures accuracy in positioning, can be customised to the shape of the patient’s heart.
As a result, the Venus P-Valve is now a recognised alternative for the remaining 70%–75% of patients who were previously limited to needing to undergo open heart surgery to replace their damaged pulmonary valves.
“I am proud of our Heart Centre team at Sidra Medicine who have played a key role in endorsing the efficacy of the Venus P-Valve during the clinical trials, which has already benefited 10 patients in Qatar,” added, Prof Hijazi.
“We hope to treat more children and adults requiring pulmonary valve implantations as we have successfully proven our expertise with this particular valve. We are already seeing interest from other hospitals and patients in the Mena region.”
