75-year-old Austin woman among first to receive heart valve procedure
AUSTIN (KXAN) – At 75 years old, Lorraine Cook has lived through two heart attacks and a major open-heart surgery. Now retired, she says her latest experience with an innovative, non-surgical procedure has given her new life.
In March, Cook became one of the first patients in the Austin area to undergo the transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) procedure at Baylor Scott & White in Round Rock. The treatment is designed for people with tricuspid regurgitation, a condition that occurs when the valve between the two right chambers of the heart doesn’t close properly, causing blood to leak backward.
Unlike open-heart surgery, this procedure uses a tiny incision in the groin to deliver a device that clips the valve tight and restores blood flow. The FDA approved the therapy earlier this year, and cardiologists say it’s a game-changer for patients who are often too high-risk for traditional surgery.
“After this last one, I was out shopping,” Cook laughed.
Her relief is a stark contrast to her earlier experience. Ten years ago, Cook endured open-heart surgery, a recovery she describes as grueling.
“The pain was not fun at all,” she recalled. “Even when I went home, I couldn’t even put the pot roast in the oven. I was begging God to just take me. It was really bad, but He didn’t.”
Years later, when Cook began struggling to walk across a room, tests revealed two leaky valves. Initially, she was adamant about avoiding another major surgery.
“My thoughts on that are I will die before I ever have that procedure done,” Cook said about her conversation with her cardiologist, Dr. Jose Francisco Condado Contreras. “I’m not having cracked open again.”
Dr. Condado reassured her that this time the treatment was different. The cardiologist tells KXAN the minimally invasive procedure can take anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours, depending on the patient’s anatomy. Most patients, he says, go home the very next day.
“I would not have known that I had that procedure done, other than feeling better,” Cook said. “I’ve had no complications at all with it.”
While there are risks, such as bleeding or needing a pacemaker if the device compresses the heart’s electrical system, Dr. Condado warns that leaving tricuspid regurgitation untreated is far more dangerous.
“Many patients tolerated having a leaky valve for a long time,” he said. “But eventually the heart becomes inefficient and starts to fail. You get swelling in your legs, swelling in your abdomen, even liver damage, and eventually death.”
For Cook, the benefits were clear. After seeing her health improve from the first procedure, she confidently returned to have her second valve treated.
“I had told Dr. Condado it’s a piece of cake,” Cook said. “I didn’t mind going back.”
Doctors say most patients can return to daily activities almost immediately, avoiding heavy lifting and long walks during early recovery.
For Cook, after years of struggling, she now feels strong enough to do something simple but meaningful: get back to living her life.
"For the longest time, tricuspid regurgitation used to only be able to be treated with medicines," Dr. Condado said. "For cardiologists, we often call this valve the forgotten valve, because we didn't have any good therapies for it."
Doctors at Baylor Scott & White in Round Rock used Edward Life Sciences' EVOQUE Tricuspid Valve Replacement.