• MitraClip procedure with double clip performed for the first time in Telugu states

A team of Cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, led by Dr Ranga Reddy, a renowned interventional cardiologist specialising on structural heart disease, introduced a ground-breaking procedure, the MitraClip procedure without surgery, for the first time in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to treat an 87-year-old woman Ms Leela Nair, with recurrent heart failures. The complex and novel procedure involving unique double MitraClip procedure for this patient with severe mitral valve regurgitation or blood leaking backwards through the mitral valve, was done under the guidance of senior cardiologists Dr Manoj Agarwal, and Dr PC Rath, and senior cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale.

Mitral valve regurgitation or leakage of valve, a prevalent heart disease, occurs when the valve between the left heart chambers fails to close properly, leading to the backward leakage of blood. It affects around 24 million people worldwide, ranking as the third most common form of valvular heart disease. Conventional treatment involves minimal-invasive mitral valve surgery, which may be effective but poses high procedural complications for older patients or high-risk patients. The non-surgical MitraClip procedure offers a good alternative, improving patient outcomes for those with severe Mitral valve regurgitation.

The MitraClip Procedure is a revolutionary and minimally invasive procedure as it involves a catheter to insert a clip to hold the edges of the mitral valve together, providing a unique and safer treatment option compared to the mitral valve surgery, especially for patients aged 60 and above. This procedure offers better recovery prospects and prolongs the life for patients dealing with mitral regurgitation.

The Apollo Heart Institute remains at the forefront of medical advancements, offering new-age treatments such as the MitraClip procedure for elderly patients, providing relief and confidence in healthcare options for a healthier and happier life. With this innovative medical approach, older individuals can find relief and confidence in their healthcare options, says, Mr Tejasvi Rao, CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

The patient Ms Leela presented with recurrent heart failure hospitalizations and was a known case of severe mitral regurgitation. The 2-D echo and TEE investigations done on her indicated severe degenerative prolapse of posterior mitral valve, the cause for severe eccentric mitral regurgitation. She was advised for surgical valve repair/replacement. In view of her advance age and very high risk for open heart surgery, she was advised trans-catheter mitral valve repair with Mitraclip. Coronary angiogram done showed normal coronaries. After a multidisciplinary heart team meeting it was decided to go ahead with Mitraclip. Two Mitra clips were placed in her, which is typically done when a single clip is not sufficient to reduce backward blood flow adequately.

The area of the prolapse in her was large and was causing severe mitral regurgitation, hence we used 2 clips and that significantly reduced mitral regurgitation. The procedure done through right femoral vein, went uneventful, the patient recovered well and was ambulated within 12 hours, says Dr Ranga Reddy.

Patient Ms Leela Nair said, I was being treated for severe breathlessness because of murmur in heart for the past six months, with medicines. Recently Dr Ranga Reddy suggested and treated me with MitraClip procedure without a surgery. Now I am in a position to walk and do my work at home without any problem. Patient’s son Kishan Nair said, though my mom had heart murmur right from her childhood she was always active and never had any problem. However, since last six months she is suffering from breathlessness, she was given medicines to control the problem and have a better quality of life. But we came to a point and realised medication is not going to help her much and her quality of life is only going to deteriorate. As a result, we consulted Dr Ranga Reddy, he suggested the MitraClip procedure. We took mom back home last week after the procedure, since then she has been walking around and going about with her daily chores comfortably and is sitting on the chair here rather than on a wheelchair and converse with media, today. Thank the Apollo team for all that they did for my mom.