On June 24, 2019, the team led by Professor Zhang Yushun successfully completed the world's first case of "implantation of completely degradable patent foramen ovale occluder". This new breakthrough has brought clinical benefits to patients with patent foramen ovale.

The surgery was operated by Professor Zhang Yushun from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. The patient surnamed Li received the closure of patent foramen ovale by minimally invasive intervention. The entire surgery was successfully completed and lasted for approximately 20 minutes. The 37-year-old patient was admitted to different local hospitals due to stroke with unknown causes. Contrast echocardiography demonstrated that the patient had a moderate to large quantity of blood flow shunted from right to left, which made the venous system generate emboli and entered the arterial system through the patent foramen ovale, thus leading to stroke. The application of "degradable patent foramen ovale occluder" can effectively block this abnormal channel.

The degradable occluder was independently developed by Shanghai Mallow Medical Instrument Co., Ltd. As the major researcher, Professor Zhang Yushun led the "clinical trial of degradable patent foramen ovale occluder and delivery device" jointly conducted in multiple medical institutions throughout China. After the implantation of degradable occluder into human body, the defect tissues can grow inwards and endothelialize. The occluder provides a temporary "bridge" for the self-repair of the heart, which will eventually degrade into carbon dioxide and water after 12 months of implantation. This device is simple to implant, safe and harmless, which can avoid potential long-term complications caused by permanent metal occluders and play a significant role in actively preventing the incidence of stroke with unknown causes.