What This Story Is About
- In June, Vanderbilt Health began implantations of the M3 device, the first Food and Drug Administration-approved transseptal transcatheter mitral valve replacement.
Why It Matters
- The procedure is quick and painless and allows patients who otherwise wouldn’t have options a way to live a healthier, longer life.
- Fifteen patients are now waiting for the procedure. Various trials of other devices are also available for patients who don’t qualify for the M3 device.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) -Vanderbilt Health has a new option for heart patients who are high risk for open heart surgery, thanks to a device newly approved by the FDA. In June, a Brentwood woman became the first patient at the hospital to undergo the procedure, paving the way for others.
Dixie Watt had a leaky heart valve. After two failed attempts to fix it, doctors at Vanderbilt presented her with an option they had never tried before. She would be the first patient to receive it, and she agreed.
At 47, Watt was told she had less than two years to live. She had an enlarged heart and needed a transplant…