UMC performs new treatment that fixes hole in heart caused by birth defects

Physicians at University Medical Center of El Paso are now performing a treatment for heart birth defects that can affect up to 25% of the entire population.

Officials at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso describe the new treatment as a “safe and minimally invasive” procedure to close a hole in the heart that can lead to significant stroke risk if untreated.

Doctors indicated the procedure takes a much different route than the past use of open-heart surgery and only takes about two hours to complete under light anesthesia for the patient.

“About 15 years ago, almost 90% of these type of congenital heart defects were repaired through open-heart surgery,” said Dr. Harsha Nagarajarao, who serves as co-director of the Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratory at UMC El Paso.

But Dr. Nagarajarao said the new treatment, known as transcatheter coil occlusion procedure, is now being widely used across the world to treat heart hole defects.

Earlier this year, a cardiology team led by Dr. Nagarajarao successfully performed the first such surgery at UMC El Paso on a 36-year-old man who suffered multiple strokes over two years.

Because there is a large and unmet need in the area for treating this type of heart defect, Dr. Nagarajarao is currently helping train additional TTP El Paso doctors for certification in the procedure.