Led by:
Dr Marek Kowalski
Dr Steffen Hofmann

Team:
Dr Michael Billion
Dr Klaus-Dieter Hönemann

The research focus “interventional valve therapy”deals with the catheter-based, interventional treatment of heart valve disorders. The Schüchtermann-Klinik is one of the largest centres for interventional valve therapy in Germany and is a training centre for national and international guests.

Especially for older patients with high to very high surgical risk, methods such as trans-catheter aortic valve implantations (TAVI) are the therapy of choice for symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. The great success of this method has not only been due to improved patient selection, more precise imaging and the use of new technologies, but above all to the interdisciplinary cooperation in the heart team with its steadily increasing experience.

The same applies to the implantation of MitraClips in both mitral and tricuspid positions. The results so far have shown that the MitraClip procedure is a low-risk, gentle and effective alternative to conventional heart operation for selected patients. Due to low complication rates and the gentle nature of the procedure, the method is particularly suitable for patients at high surgical risk.

In the meantime, there are also mitral valve systems that can be completely implanted by catheter for interventional mitral valve replacement (e.g. TIARA), which can be used in the Schüchtermann-Klinik if the anatomical conditions are suitable and following consultation with the heart team.

Supervised studies and registries:

• TIARA II (Phase II / 2019 – ongoing)
• TRILUMINATE (Phase II / 2018 – ongoing)

• SOURCE3-Register (2014 – ongoing)
• Hausinternes TAVI-Register (2008 – ongoing)