In Tuesday's Healthier Me, a new minimally invasive procedure piece of technology called the Melody Valve is making a big difference in the way doctors approach heart surgery.
The amazing piece of technology leaves nothing but a small dot on the patient's neck. The Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve, as it's known in full, comes from a the jugular vein of a cow, where it would normally prevent the backflow of blood as the cow grazes with its head down.
In the new procedure, a surgeon inserts the valve via a small tube through the neck and into the heart; once the valve is in place, the surgeon inflates a balloon to expand its wire mesh collar, then deflates the balloon before pulling the wire back out.
Juan Olano, Clinical Specialist: "It's a platform that has changed, dramatically, the way we look at things, ...because, instead of having to do this in an absolutely invasive manner, we're going less and less invasive, [with all] the same safeguards that we've had up until now."
Another major benefit of using the Melody Valve is decreased patient downtime; most patients leave the hospital just two days after undergoing the procedure.
The procedure costs approximately $30,000.