Reconstruction of the tricuspid valve (TriClip / Pascal) for tricuspid valve insufficiency

Thanks to state-of-the-art technology and without the use of a heart-lung machine, critically ill patients and those who are unsuitable for conventional surgery can now be successfully treated on the beating heart.

The clip intervention is performed under general anesthesia. The procedure is essentially guided by ultrasound (swallowing echocardiography). During the procedure, the clip is advanced to the heart via the inguinal vein using a catheter system.

After positioning the clip over the tricuspid valve, it is advanced into the right ventricle, through the valve and secured between two leaflets of the tricuspid valve. The improvement in valve function is immediately documented by ultrasound.

After the intervention, patients are admitted to a monitoring ward for a few hours while still awake. The total hospital stay is between 2 and 5 days if the procedure is uncomplicated.

Operation access

The leaking tricuspid valve can be reconstructed (sealed) using a catheter (1), for example by inserting an edge-to-edge device (TriClip or PASCAL).

The device is guided with a catheter via the large vena cava to the tricuspid valve and placed in the correct location under the guidance of cardiac ultrasound images. One or more clips are placed as required.

If repair is not possible, a new heart valve can also be inserted into the defective tricuspid valve using a catheter (this is only possible if the tricuspid valve has already been surgically reconstructed or even replaced with a biological prosthesis). New procedures for implanting a tricuspid valve prosthesis using a cardiac catheter are currently under development.