Misbah Ali

The Doctors at the Apollo hospitals have successfully implanted the MitraClip on a 41-year-old farmer, who waited for 91 days in different hospitals for a heart transplant.

This was announced on August 4, 2021 by the Apollo hospitals in a press conference.

The healthcare group informed that the patient was back on his feet within a few days after the procedure and might not even need a heart transplant.

Talking about the advantages of the MitraClip Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Group, Preetha Reddy said, “10% of patients are suffering from heart disease. Research has shown that using MitraClip as a bridge to heart transplantation is safe and may even lead to functional improvements that permit patients to be removed from the transplant list.”

“We are proud to have demonstrated this at Apollo Hospitals through the case of a 41-year-old male patient who was waiting for a heart transplant for over three months. The success of this case has renewed our commitment to taking this cutting edge and revolutionary medical innovation to the people who need it the most.” Preetha said.

Data from 119 patients in the International MitraBridge Registry on critically ill patients on a transplant list showed procedural success was achieved in 87.5% of cases, and 30-day survival was 100%, Preetha informed.

Informing about what exactly the MitraClip procedure is and why is it used, Senior Interventional Cardiologist of Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Sai Satish said, “The MitraClip is a small metal clip with a polyester fabric that is inserted in place to fix the leaky mitral valve thereby ensuring that the blood flow is in the right direction.”

 “It is a globally accepted procedure for patients with heart failure. Patients with moderate to severe or severe primary and secondary mitral regurgitation who are not improving on medical treatment can opt for this minimally invasive solution that offers them a vastly improved quality of life and health,” Dr. Satish added.

MitraClip was introduced in India just three years ago. The United States witnessed the very first implantation of MitraClip in a patient in 2003. It was a game-changing procedure and in 2008 it was made commercially available in Europe and in the US in 2013. Today more than 100,000 patients in more than 50 countries have undergone the procedure.

This procedure gives a ray of hope to frail and elderly patients who cannot go in for conventional open-heart surgery. The minimally invasive procedure is effective in both functional and degenerative mitral regurgitation.

The MitraClip is performed percutaneously in a cath lab and the device is removable and repositionable. These important attributes contribute to the safety of this procedure. Diligent patient selection is an important element to ensure success.

Repeat hospitalisations are avoided after the MitraClip procedure as compared to conventional surgery, making it economical in the long run, and patients are able to recover and resume life in a very short span of time, Dr. Satish added.