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“Hybrid” Melody Valve Therapy
Delays Open Heart Surgery
CHOC Children’s Heart Institute is one of only 20 centers in the entire country certified to use the first FDA-approved transcatheter heart valve “hybrid” alternative to open heart surgery for replacing regurgitant or stenotic pulmonary conduits. According to CHOC Children’s interventional cardiologist Farhouch Berdjis, M.D., Melody TPV (Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve) therapy improves right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) conduit function and lengthens the conduit’s lifespan, delaying the patient’s next open heart surgery.
“The patient receives the same pulmonary conduit as would be provided through conventional open heart surgery, but in a far more gentle manner,” said Dr. Berdjis, who trained for several months to become certified in the Melody TPV procedure. “There is less scarring, less stress to the circulatory systems and faster recovery.” He is performing this procedure in close collaboration with Richard Gates, M.D., director of cardiothoracic surgery at the CHOC Children’s Heart Institute.
Dr. Berdjis said that Melody TPV may not ultimately be a patient’s last procedure, but it will reduce the overall number of major surgeries.
“Melody TPV is an example of the groundbreaking therapies that make CHOC a leader in pediatric medicine, and we are extremely proud to be at the forefront of this technology,” he said.
For more information about the Melody TPV therapy, please call 714-532-7827.
Major Indications
Children's Hospital of Orange County | 
University of California, Irvine