Heart valve replacement sans surgery

The valve, taken from a bovine jugular, was mounted on a stent — an ultra-thin, tiny cylinder of platinum mesh that is commonly inserted into major blood vessels to support a weakened vessel wall. The valve and stent were put on the end of the catheter, which was then inserted into the femoral vein in the groin and gently pushed up to and across the heart, to the area of obstruction.

"The end of the catheter then inflated like a balloon, opening out the valved stent and setting it in place," the inventor of the technique, Philipp Bonhoeffer, told AFP.

The team practised the valved stent on lambs before trying it on the child, who is in good health and has no problems with the flowback of blood into the heart, which occurred with his old valve, the study says.

The advantage of catheter insertion is that it is non-invasive, a particular boon for children who have to undergo traumatic surgery, Bonhoeffer said. When the new valve eventually wears out, a replacement one of slightly smaller diameter can be slotted into place underneath it, he said. That could be repeated three or four Times before surgery is needed, it is hoped.