New minimally invasive heart valve procedure

One of the heart defects babies are born with is a combination of four different heart problems, all of which affect the structure of the heart.

The condition causes inadequate blood flow to the lungs.

For decades, these kids would face open heart surgery again and again, even into adulthood, but now, a new procedure is helping these hearts beat healthily once again.

“I’ve been inside the hospital practically ever since I was born,” Amanda Tillman said.

Tillman was diagnosed at birth with tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that impacts normal blood flow to the heart.

“I had surgery right before I started kindergarten,” Tillman said.

Almost 30 years later, Tillman became exhausted and had trouble keeping up with the demands of being a mother and a wife. And as a nurse, when she heard her heartbeat, she knew something was not right.

Pediatric cardiologist Robert English at Wolfson Children’s Hospital is using a new minimally invasive procedure to replace the leaky pulmonary valve.

“Which we can use in those patients that have a severely enlarged pathway to the lungs. The harmony valve is inserted through a caterer in the groin and snaked up through the body to the heart,” he said. “The harmony valve is, I would say, kind of shaped like a dumbbell. It’s wider on either end and narrower in the middle.”

Giving patients like Tillman a less risky option to repair their valves.

“It’s a game changer having one or two heart surgeries in your lifetime versus four or five. It makes a really big difference as well. I could feel a difference with my heart, like the same day,” she said.

Now, Tillman feels like she can be the wife, mother and nurse she wants to be.