PORTLAND – Surgeons at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland performed a first-of-its-kind heart procedure last week and now say the patient is doing well.
The doctors implanted an artificial valve in Benjamin Wiener’s chest by using a catheter and a two-inch incision in his groin, instead of open heart surgery.
“This opens up the opportunity for treatment of thousands of patients who previously had no hope for recovery,” said Dr. Todd Caulfield with the Providence Heart & Vascular Institute.
Wiener, 91, of Vancouver, was doing well after the procedure. Doctors said he was an ideal candidate for the procedure, which lasted a little over two hours.
Providence prepared for five years for the surgery and sent the surgeons to train with top experts in the field in Canada and Germany.
