Australian doctors at the MonashHeart centre have conducted a world-first medical procedure in which faulty heart valves are replaced without patients needing to undergo open heart surgery.

The replacement heart valve was inserted on the end of a wire through a small hole in the groin.   Dubbed a "lotus valve", the valve opens up like a flower once inside the heart, and can be easily repositioned.
The treatment lasts about 90 minutes and could be commonly performed within two years.

The treatment is used for a condition known as aortic stenosis, which involves a failure of the aortic valve to open properly. The valve, which controls blood flow into the aorta, opens about 100,000 times a day.

Source: MonashHeart     ;    The Telegraph