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Filling That Hole in Your Heart

Repairing defects and ruptures deep inside the body may have just gotten a whole lot less invasive. Up until now, fixing damaged cardiac tissue, ulcers, hernias and holes in other places within patients has meant serious surgery and sutures to bring tissue together so it can repair itself.

But researchers have unveiled a new, much less invasive procedure that harnesses a catheter equipped with inflatable balloons and ultraviolet-light-activated, biodegradable adhesive patches.

A team from Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital catheter has successfully used the device in animals to repair holes in organs without needing to resort to risky major surgery and stitches that can erode tissue over time. Learn more and see the device deployed on actual ruptured heart tissue below.

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