​The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) made history this week (27 July) after performing the first minimally invasive sutureless or rapid deployment in the setting of aortic valve replacement in the African continent. 

This major achievement was made possible by the CMJAH’s Cardiothoracic Department and Wits University Medical School, in partnership with Vertice Medtech Group. 

Sutureless or rapid deployment valves in the setting of aortic valve replacement is an emerging surgical procedure using the transcatheter valve technology. It shortens operation time, morbidity and length of hospital stay. The patient was fully awake within 6 hours of the procedure. 

The surgical team was led by the visiting expert, Dr Slobodan Mićović, an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Belgrade Medical School in Serbia, and locally by Dr Itumeleng Taunyane, Head of Clinical Unit and Lead Surgeon - Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery and Dr Bongani Ngutshane, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon. 

Prof Mićović is one of the world-renowned cardiac surgeons who runs over 2 500 cases per annum with about 705 done through minimally invasive means. 

The surgical team spent the whole day in theatre working on the two groundbreaking cases. One of the beneficiaries of this procedure is a 64-year-old male who was initially considered for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), but instead, a possibility of rapid deployment valve was discussed him and he gladly accepted. 

Prof Mićović was impressed with the CMJAH surgical team and their level of professionalism. “We operated patients with a fantastic device with very good longterm durability. It was not complicated to implant, and it is user-friendly with very good hemodynamics.” 

The sutureless or rapid deployment in the setting of aortic valve implantation is an adjunct or additional armamentarium for mitigating costs and expanding the scope of care for patients who are also considered for but don’t fully meet the criteria for TAVI. It is done at a fraction of the cost to TAVI and also at the fraction of time to conventional Cardiopulmonary bypass aortic valve replacement (CPB-AVR) procedure. 

Currently, CMJAH is doing TAVI for high-risk patients through percutaneous techniques making it the only state hospital outside of the Western Cape to offer this therapy. 

The successful operation comes hot on the heels of the department having carried out over 700 successful surgical procedures on Mandela Day. It is part of the continuous efforts to improve efficiencies across our centres of excellence.

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Issued by the Gauteng Department of Health