SHANGHAI, CHINA,  Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, today announced the successful first Chinese implants of the Edwards SAPIEN XT valve.

The transfemoral valve implantations were performed in May as special access cases at the Second Military Medical University, under a joint educational and training program on transcatheter aortic valve implantation between the university and Edwards. "Patients in China are in need of a transcatheter tissue valve treatment option, and we hope to gain the necessary approvals to launch the Edwards SAPIEN XT valve in China as early as 2013," said Huimin Wang, M.D., Edwards' corporate vice president, Japan, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The Edwards SAPIEN XT valve was approved for sale in Europe in March 2010. It is an investigational device in the United States, Japan and China.

Source:  Edwards Lifesciences Corporation