We performed the procedure ourselves, without any external support, after almost a year of preparation. In the first procedure, lasting 2 hours and 12 minutes, we used the Abbott Mitraclip system dedicated to the mitral valve. As a result, we reduced tricuspid regurgitation from severe to minor, and it was the first successful TEER TR procedure in Poland. Later, in 2021, we were also the first center in the country to reduce tricuspid regurgitation using the newly developed Abbott Triclip system modified for TEER TR. Over the years, the procedure time has significantly shortened. Recently, we performed a successful TEER TR procedure using 2 Edwards Pascal ACE devices in less than 40 minutes.
Currently, our team, who have the most profound experience in the country, consists of: surgeons – Dr. Adam Rdzanek (leader since 2018), Prof. Zenon Huczek and Habilitated Doctor Mariusz Tomaniak; echonavigators – Habilitated Doctor Piotr Scisło (leader since 2017) and Prof. Agnieszka Kapłon-Cieślicka; and a clinician – Dr. Ewa Pędzich. We work in the 1st Department and Clinic of Cardiology (currently headed by Prof. Marcin Grabowski, and previously by Prof. Grzegorz Opolski). The procedures are performed in the Department of Interventional Cardiology (led by Prof. Janusz Kochman) at the University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Warsaw.
From 2018 to 2024, we treated 33 patients using the TEER TR method. However, from the beginning of 2024, after the implementation of the refund system by the Ministry of Health and the National Health Fund, 17 patients were treated with this method until the end of March in our clinic. To date, our team is the only one in Poland that has just exceeded the number of 50 successful procedures for percutaneous repair of tricuspid regurgitation using the edge-to-edge method (end of March 2023).
