TidalHealth reaches medical milestone with non-invasive heart surgery procedure

SALIBSURY, Md. – TidalHealth is now the first hospital on the Eastern Shore to have performed a non-invasive heart surgery procedure known as MitraClip.

Officials say this procedure is an option for people with a heart valve disorder, who can’t have open heart surgery, including some elderly patients. Essentially doctors can put this device in by going through a vein in the patient’s leg and it acts as a “clothes pin” to decrease the amount of leaking that a heart valve is experiencing. The closest other hospitals that perform this are in the Baltimore or Wilmington areas so experts say they’re excited to have this available for people here on Delmarva.

“We get a lot of patients here that are elderly or retiring in the area so there’s a huge need for it and now for them to not have to go either West across the bridge or south or two hours or north, I think it’s a real excellent viable alternative for them to have things close to home,” says Dr. Steven Hearne, a cardiologist at TidalHealth.

This procedure involves a one night stay in the hospital so patients usually come in one day and go home the next day, if everything goes well.