Patient who would struggle for breath now planning trip to Australia after pioneering heart valve procedure at Sussex hospital

Doctors in Sussex have been performing life-changing heart procedures which have been hailed a ‘great success’.

A procedure, known as Pascal, to repair a leaking mitral valve in the heart was previously only available in London, Bristol and Manchester. But in the summer of last year, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – which includes The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, Worthing and Southlands Hospitals, St Richard's Hospital in Chichester and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath – became the first trust in the south-east of England to be granted funding from NHS England to begin carrying out the procedures.

The trust has now completed about 20 operations – which involves going in through a tiny incision in the groin and using clips to stop the leak – all at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, and expects to perform up to 50 a year.

Patient Richard Godden, from Hove, had the Pascal procedure in December, leaving hospital the next day which he said was ‘remarkable’.

The 77-year-old added: “Before the operation I was basically in my armchair. A really low quality of life. I would struggle for breath, had to get a stair lift in, needed someone to come with me when I went outdoors because I couldn’t walk very far on my own. The difference I felt after the operation was huge. I can breathe better. I can exercise a little. I can walk further.

"Now, I am looking forward to going to Australia on my own to visit a very dear friend, Francine. I’ve asked the doctors and they’ve said there is no reason why I can’t go. I’ll spend a few months out there and Francine is a retired nurse – so she can look after me.”

Professor David Hildick-Smith, who leads the team who do the procedures at the Royal Sussex, said: “This has been the great success of the past year for us. There were only three trusts in the country where this procedure was available. Not many patients wanted to travel, even to London, to be assessed for it, because they are usually quite poorly. Now we have this procedure available, people who would have had to put up with breathlessness and fatigue and are unable to do what they want can now come in, have a two-hour procedure, a night in hospital and be back home walking the dog the next day. This improves their quality of life and increases their life expectancy.”

As well as the procedure to repair the valve, last year the trust became the first in the UK to perform a mitral valve replacement but not many patients qualify, which the trust said is why it was important to begin the mitral valve repair procedures, so that so many more patients could benefit.

Professor Hildrick-Smith added: “The mitral valve replacement was ground-breaking. However, there are so many patients who do not qualify for the procedure because that demands an exact heart fit for the technology. That meant so many patients had no real alternative – really just open-heart surgery which is often not appropriate for these patients as the risks are high and the recovery is long. The other option has been just tablets with progression usually to heart failure over time.

“Having the expertise at the Royal Sussex in Brighton ready to carry out the procedures and getting the funding has been a huge advance for us as we can now offer some patients

life-changing treatment."

See more on the first valve replacement here: Sussex grandad, 81, is first in UK to undergo pioneering heart surgery | Mid Sussex Times

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