87-year-old patient gets Mitral valve repair with Mitraclip Implant at Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Apollo Hospital, here successfully performed a Trans Catheter Mitral valve repair with Mitraclip Implant, on an 87-year-old male patient, diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation or valvular leakage and the lung disease COPD.   

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Dr. Sai Satish, Sr Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai; Dr. Manoj Agarwal, Sr. Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad; Dr. B.V.A. Ranga Reddy, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, Dr. P.C. Rath, Sr. Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad and Dr. Ravindra Babu, Director Medical Services, Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, briefed about performing this minimally invasive patient-friendly procedure for the first time in the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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This patient has been suffering from severe breathing difficulty and was admitted multiple times in different hospitals even after optimal medical management. He was shifted to Apollo Hospitals and needed constant oxygen support. He was unable to move from the bed in view of severe breathing difficulty. Conventionally the Mitral valve repair involves major open-heart surgery.

This gentleman was not fit for the surgery and involved enormous risk to his life. Untreated he would have continued to be breathless and succumbed. Mitra clip is a miracle therapy for such patients. After a thorough evaluation and discussion, the team of cardiologists at Apollo Hospitals decided to go for a non-valvular mitral valve repair with Mitraclip. The Mitraclip is a small metal clip with polyester fabric that is inserted in place to fix the leaky mitral valve, thereby ensuring the flow of blood, in the right direction.

The loosening of the Mitral valve leads to leakage of blood. Mitraclip grips the valve tightly and prevents blood leakage. Mitraclip implant gives a new lease of life to frail and elderly patients who cannot go in for conventional open-heart surgery. The minimally invasive Mitraclip procedure is effective in both functional and degenerative Mitral regurgitation. The procedure is performed percutaneously in the Cath lab and the device is removable and repositionable.

Diligent patient selection is critical to ensure the success of this procedure. Only a handful of cardiologists at select centers in the country are trained to perform the procedure, as it's a highly skillful procedure. Conventionally an open-heart surgery was needed to repair the valve, which was highly risky, especially among the elderly. It involved heavy blood loss, post-surgery complications, infections, prolonged hospital stay, and recovery time. Post-procedure, the patient is doing well and is due for discharge.

The Trans Cather Mitral valve repair with Mitraclip Implant is helping the patient to lead a better quality of life devoid of oxygen support and he is moving on his own. Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, is authorized to perform the procedure under post-marketing surveillance. Dr. Sai Satish, an expert in structural heart disease procedures, is the investigator and Dr B.V.A. Ranga Reddy, is the co-investigator for this Mitraclip procedure which was performed for the first time in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The patient's son P Vishwanath said, from last June onwards he was hospitalized 6 times, of those 2 times in March month itself. The results after this Mitraclip procedure are amazing, earlier even when sitting on the bed he used to feel uneasy and breathless, today he is able to do that effortlessly, without any difficulty. 

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