Doctors in Panama performed first new heart surgery in region.

For the first time in the country, Panamanian doctors performed a tricuspid heart valve implant, the first in Central America, according to the Social Security Fund (CSS).

This procedure helps restore blood flow and improves the patient’s quality of life.

According to the CSS, the procedure, at another time, had to have been highly complex open-heart surgery; however, the technology allowed surgeons to place a device through the patient’s groin, then advance to the heart to deploy the devices and improve the heart function.

Dr. Pedro Echeverría, a surgeon at the City of Health Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute, oversaw the procedure and said: “It is the first to be performed in Central America, in fact, it has only been performed in the United States, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil ”.

The technological equipment used to perform these minimally invasive interventions is considered world-class. “ We have combined the best doctors that the country has, with the best team ”, highlighted Echeverria.