Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic cardiologists have developed a new catheter-based technique to remove papillary fibroelastomas — the most common type of benign heart tumors — in patients who are too high-risk for surgery, according to a July 22 news release.
The method, first published in JACC: Case Reports in December, uses aspiration and a snare to stabilize and extract the tumor through a minimally invasive approach. It has been successfully performed in five patients aged 64 to 85.
For next steps, Mayo Clinic plans to build a patient registry and support development of devices designed specifically for transcatheter tumor removal.
