WVU Heart and Vascular Institute surgeons first in the U.S. to place new aortic valve repair device

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – This week, surgeons at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute became the first in the United States to place the HAART 300 Aortic Annuloplasty Device, an aortic valve repair device invented by Heart and Vascular Institute surgeon J. Scott Rankin, M.D.

“Our surgeons are committed to offering patients the latest medical technologies that have the potential to improve patient outcomes,” Vinay Badhwar, M.D., executive chair of the Heart and Vascular Institute, said. “We believe the HAART Aortic Annuloplasty Device fills a significant technological need that helps make aortic valve repair a simpler and more reproducible procedure to the benefit of patients.”

Lawrence Wei, M.D., director of the Center for Aortic Valve Disease and co-director of the Center for Aortic Surgery; Dr. Badhwar; and Dr. Rankin performed the first surgery on Monday, June 12, followed by a second patient on June 13. Both received repair of their aortic valves with excellent results.

“The novel sizing method and simple, quick implantation technique for the HAART 300 Aortic Annuloplasty Device help to standardize the overall repair procedure,” Dr. Wei said. “Internal annuloplasty has significant advantages over existing aortic valve repair techniques and makes aortic valve repair a more attractive treatment option for a broader group of patients.”

The HAART 300 Aortic Annuloplasty Device, manufactured by BioStable Science & Engineering, Inc., received FDA approval in March of this year. It is the first commercially available internal annuloplasty device designed for the aortic valve.

Annuloplasty is a procedure to reconstruct the frame, called the annulus, of a heart valve. It’s the preferred surgical treatment for valve diseases compared to valve replacement. The HAART 300 Aortic Annuloplasty Device is designed to re-size, reshape, and stabilize the annulus of the aortic valve. 

Due to the technical challenges of existing surgical techniques, aortic valve repair is performed routinely at only a limited number of heart centers around the world. This new device has the potential to become the surgical standard in aortic valve repair and make valve repair a more accessible option for patients.