Live Transmission of Heart Operation to China for the First Time

IMMENSTADT, Germany, September 16, 2011 -

- Cross-reference: Picture is available at

  www.presseportal.de/pm/65530/2113208/

For the first time ever, a heart operation has been transmitted live to China. Two patients, both over 80, received a new cardiac valve via the leg artery at the Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Oberallgäu-Kempten (Heart and Circulation Centre) in southern Germany. Around 50 medical professionals followed the interventions during a video conference at Tongji University in Shanghai, one of the leading universities in China. In China, the “percutaneous aorta valve replacement” procedure has only been performed twice in Peking.

The live case transmission took place as part of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Trust’s Federal Chancellor’s Scholarship (Bundeskanzlerstipendium), with Katja Schmidt reporting on the scholarship’s standards of excellence. Heart surgeon Dr. Kefei Li from Tongjiu University was awarded a one-year scholarship at the in Immenstadt. He is being supervised by his doctorial advisor Professor Dr. Jan Torzewski, Head Physician at the Centre, which is part of the Clinical Association Kempten-Oberallgäu. Torzewski carried out both operations, which are particularly suitable for older patients due to the non-invasive procedure, in cooperation with Sana-Herzchirurgie Stuttgart.

The Chinese physicians had the opportunity to pose their questions directly to experts in Germany during the transmission. The project marks the starting signal for a close cooperation between the German Herz- und Gefäßzentrum and the Shanghai-based University, according to Torzewski: “We believe that we will be able to operate on Chinese patients in Germany.”

Contact partner for more information: Christian Wucherer, PR and Marketing, Klinikverbund Kempten-Oberallgäu gGmbH, Telephone: +49(0)8323-910-340 or +49(0)831-530-3328, Email: christian.wucherer@kliniken-oa.de.

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