A 41-year-old man, who was suffering from heart failure and was put on the heart transplant list, underwent a MitraClip implant to fix a leaky mitral valve at Apollo Hospitals.
Severe leakage
The patient, a farmer from Vijayawada, had no comorbidities and was healthy until he suffered from heart failure early this year. He had suffered severe mitral valve leakage, causing his heart function to reduce to 15%, according to Sai Satish, senior interventional cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals.
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After being hospitalised for a month in Vijayawada, he was shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad but his heart function continued to deteriorate, and he was put on the transplant list, he said.
“The patient had spent 90 days hospitalised. His heart was very weak. He was shifted to Apollo Hospitals and underwent the MitraClip implant five days ago. He can sit up and walk now. His heart function has improved from 15% to 30%. We wanted to do a bridge for heart transplant. With careful medical attention, I hope he will not require a heart transplant,” Dr. Satish told reporters on Wednesday.
According to a press release, MitraClip is a small metal clip with a polyester fabric inserted to fix a leaky mitral valve.
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It clips the mitral valve leaflets, and ensures that the blood flow is in the right direction. The procedure was done percutaneously, he said.
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.
Preetha Reddy, executive vice-chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group, said 70% of MitraClip procedures in India were performed at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
Dr. Satish said in the last three to four months, when COVID-19 cases were raging, they were able to perform the procedures in very sick patients with heart failure. He also presented the earlier cases of an 86-year-old and a 72-year-old patient, who received MitraClip implants.