ChristianaCare first in Delaware to offer breakthrough tricuspid valve disease treatments

Performing the first transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement at ChristianaCare. (Photo courtesy ChristianaCare)

WILMINGTON—ChristianaCare has become the first health system in Delaware to offer two new FDA-approved, minimally invasive procedures for patients with tricuspid valve disease.

These groundbreaking treatments, TriClip and EVOQUE, can repair or replace a failing tricuspid valve without open-heart surgery, giving patients a safer option and faster recovery.

New options for tricuspid valve regurgitation

The tricuspid valve directs blood flow through the heart, but when it fails to close properly, blood leaks backward — a condition known as tricuspid valve regurgitation. This forces the heart to work harder, often leading to fatigue, shortness of breath, and swelling.

“ChristianaCare continues to innovate in the area of non-surgical valve procedures,” said Kirk Garratt, M.D., MSc, medical director of the Center for Heart & Vascular Health. “We now offer every FDA-approved therapy for tricuspid valve disease, which means we can tailor treatment to each patient and choose the option that best fits their condition.”

The new treatments are:

TriClip: A clip attaches to valve flaps that don’t close properly, stopping leaks.
EVOQUE: A replacement valve that uses the patient’s own valve as an anchor to take over function.

“Most of our patients with tricuspid valve disease are older adults, and they really do not desire to travel to Philadelphia for treatment,” said Erin Fender, M.D., interventional cardiologist. “ChristianaCare’s tricuspid valve disease program enables patients to stay in Delaware for treatment and receive this leading-edge care.”

Fender and James Hopkins, M.D., performed ChristianaCare’s first TriClip procedure in August and its first EVOQUE procedure in September.

Both procedures are performed by threading a catheter through a vein in the leg to reach the heart. Guided by echocardiogram, the operation typically lasts one to two hours.

“Patients are usually up and walking later that evening or the next morning, depending on what time of day the procedure was done,” Fender said. “They’re typically discharged the following day.”

In the past, open-heart surgery was the only treatment option, but many patients with severe symptoms weren’t strong candidates.

“When I was a fellow, I did research focused on tricuspid regurgitation at a time when patients really had no therapeutic options,” Fender said. “Now, being able to offer people therapy that’s so safe and effective, with minimal downtime afterwards, is absolutely transformative to our patients. It’s delightful to see the evolution.”

Beyond the heart valve

The new valve procedures are part of ChristianaCare’s growing toolbox of minimally invasive innovations. Other recent offerings include:

Pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation, targeting abnormal heart tissue faster and more consistently than freezing or heating methods.
Genicular artery embolization for osteoarthritis-related knee pain, using tiny particles to block inflamed vessels, reducing pain and improving mobility.