Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement Procedure

[Laryrog]

I am 75 years old and had mitral valve repair 16 years ago. I an now in the need of a mitral valve replacement, but also have developed stage 4 kidney disease. My cardiologist said that UCLA, Scripps, and Cedars are performing transcatheter mitral valve replacement that will be much better for my kidneys than the traditional surgery. Of course, this is not medicare approved, so very expensive. If anyone has had experience with this procedure, I would very much appreciate your sharing it with me.

 

[dornole]

Sorry you're going through this. I had mitral repair (via balloon) 15 years ago myself and am waiting around for when a replacement is necessary, so I have been following this issue pretty closely. We DID have one person post last fall who was part of a clinical trial in Australia and had TMVR. Link below (she posted as "guest" but later as OzChrissy)

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/heart-talk/868996-hi-new-memberb

She hasn't posed since October but you could try to private message her through the forum.

I didn't know anybody was doing TMVR commercially yet, have only heard about device trials. For what it's worth, my cardiologist has also been involved with TMVR trials here in Minneapolis. Possibly several companies are in different stages of testing different devices in many places.

I also happened across this Medicare link that seems to indicate TMVR can sometimes be covered, just in case you do match the criteria.

https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-decision-memo.aspx?NCAId=273

Tough decisions when you have a lot of conditions to consider. I would love to hear what you find out if you're willing to share.

 

[Laryrog]

Thank-you very much for your informative reply. I am going to pursue the high risk Medicare coverage possibility with my doctors to see if it will apply to my case. My cardiologist did mention that something like this is available, but did not provide any specifics. I will keep you informed as I find out more information. Thanks again for your prompt and kind reply