A specialist heart team in Middlesbrough has reached a milestone after treating its 100th patient with a minimally invasive procedure that can offer an alternative when open-heart surgery is too risky.
The James Cook University Hospital has used mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, known as TEER, since 2019. The is designed for people with mitral regurgitation, where the heart’s mitral valve leaks and can cause breathlessness, swelling and fatigue.
Instead of open surgery, clinicians insert a small clip through a vein in the groin and use it to help the valve close more effectively. University Hospitals Tees says patients typically go home the following day.
The 100th procedure was carried out on Margaret Smith, 86, from Nunthorpe. Margaret had previously climbed Roseberry Topping with her grandchildren for her 80th birthday, but worsening breathlessness had begun to limit everyday activities and knock her confidence.
After treatment, she was discharged the next day and reported already feeling less breathless. Her next target is wonderfully local: getting back up Roseberry Topping.
The milestone reflects work across the hospital’s structural heart service, including specialist nurses, imaging teams, the catheter laboratory and wider multidisciplinary staff. The team says the treatment has created an option for some patients who previously may not have had a surgical route.
Full details are available from University Hospitals Tees.