Revolutionizing Cardiac Care: The Living Mitral Valve Transplant Breakthrough

Duke Health has performed the world’s first living mitral valve transplant, a pioneering procedure in pediatric cardiac surgery. The operation, which involved transplanting healthy valves from a full-heart transplant recipient to two other children, could provide a new alternative for valve replacement in young patients.

An Innovative Approach to Valve Replacement

Traditionally, mitral valve replacements rely on mechanical or bioprosthetic valves, which do not grow with the child and require multiple surgeries over time. This new technique, however, uses a valve from a recently transplanted heart, which may grow with the patient, potentially reducing the need for repeated procedures.

The first recipient of this procedure was 14-year-old Margaret Van Bruggen, who suffered severe mitral valve damage due to bacterial endocarditis. The donor, 11-year-old Journi Kelly, received a heart transplant and donated her original healthy mitral valve to Margaret. Journi’s second valve was transplanted to 9-year-old Kensley Frizzell, who has Turner Syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting heart development.

Hope for the Future

While the initial success is promising, researchers emphasize thatfurther studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the technique. If proven viable, this approach could help reduce the number of surgeries needed for children with severe heart conditions.

Duke Health has been at the forefront of partial heart transplant techniques, having performed 20 such procedures under FDA guidance. Experts hope that this innovation could expand the use of donor hearts, benefiting more patients with limited transplant options.