The device functions as an alternative to surgical methods and allows for quicker recovery
By JOANNA ABRAHAM— science@theaggie.org
In November 2025, UC Davis Health became the first in the world to successfully use a novel catheter device — Abbot’s G5 MitraClip and TriClip — to treat mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, or leaky heart valves. Leaky valves can occur when the valves of the heart don’t “fully seal,” leading to backflow (or “regurgitation”) of blood, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Over time, this places chronic stress on the heart, and can ultimately lead to heart failure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Both the mitral valve (between the left atrium and left ventricle) or tricuspid valve (between the right atrium and right ventricle) can be affected.
If treated surgically, treatment involves repair or replacement of the damaged valve. At the discretion of the medical team, the surgery may be open heart or minimally invasive, which have recovery periods of six to 12 weeks or two to four weeks, respectively.
However, not all individuals diagnosed with valve regurgitation are eligible for surgery. Risks, such as arrhythmias, clotting, tissue damage and pneumonia, become amplified with age or in individuals with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This was the case for James Young, an 86-year old former athlete who was diagnosed with a leaky mitral valve. An unideal candidate for surgery, he reflected via an interview with the University of Maryland on his prognosis had he not been offered an alternative.
“My quality of life was going to continue to deteriorate,” Young said.
This is where Abbott’s Transcatheter Edge-To-Edge Repair (TEER) technology comes in, the most recent versions of which have been pioneered at UC Davis. The MitraClip and TriClip allow for a “low risk” and non-surgical method of valve repair for the mitral and tricuspid valves.
The TEER device is passed from a vein in a leg to the heart via a catheter, a hollow tube. Once in the heart, the device then repairs the valve by “clipping together […] flaps of tissue,” according to an Abbot Press Release.
Compared to surgical treatment, this method only requires a one night-long hospital visit, with patients returning to routine tasks within 2 to 3 days, according to the University of Florida. This is in contrast to the relatively long recovery periods for surgical procedures.
Young commented on his own short recovery period in an interview with the University of Maryland.
“It was fantastic that I only had a one-night stay and returned to work in just one week,” Young said.
Dr. Gagan D. Singh, professor of Internal Medical Cardiology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, compared the Abbot’s TEER technology to existing treatment options.
“There are few safe and effective treatment options with this degree of efficiency,” Singh said in an interview with UC Davis Health.
The MitraClip and TriClip G5 system is the most recent version of this device. In November 2025, a team led by Singh at the UC Davis Health Center became the first in the world to successfully use the G5 system to treat both mitral and tricuspid regurgitation.
This isn’t the first time UC Davis Health has been a key leader in the use of novel surgical techniques and technologies to treat leaky heart valves. In April 2024, the cardiology team at UC Davis Health was one of the first healthcare systems in the United States to adopt a prior model of the TEER system, the G4, according to a UC Davis Health press release.
Other medical systems have also begun adopting the TEER system. The procedures are being performed in multiple centers across the U.S. — including at the aforementioned St. Joseph Medical Center at the University of Maryland — according to Dr. Jason H. Rogers, clinical professor of cardiothoracic medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine.
Ultimately, these catheter devices, which have been consistently pioneered at UC Davis, offer hope for individuals who may not be ideal candidates for open-heart surgery, but still require treatment for leaky heart valve disease.
Written by: Joanna Abraham — science@theaggie.org
