NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI, AUG 5
Kameshwar Rao, a farmer (41) from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, who had waited for over three months for a heart transplant, has received a new lease of life after undergoing a procedure for “MitraClip implant”, a minimally invasive solution for such patients, doctors said on Wednesday.
The operation took place a few days ago at Apollo Hospital in Chennai and the patient was back on his feet within a few days after the procedure, and might not even need a heart transplant. He was discharged on Wednesday, they said.
Addressing reporters on the successful procedure of ‘MitraClip’ implantation, Dr. Sai Satish, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals 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.’’
MitraClip implant is not done via surgery but in a cath lab using a percutaneous approach. It is a small metal clip with a polyester fabric that is inserted in place to fix the leaky mitral valve and reduces the flow of blood in the wrong direction, he said.
It does not require open heart surgery and the MitraClip is put in place via a minimally invasive approach through the femoral vein in the groin, he said.
The MitraClip is delivered to the heart using the catheter under real-time 3D echocardiographic and fluoroscopic guidance. The device is removable and repositionable, and recovery is fast with a quick return to normal activity, the doctors said, adding the patient was discharged on Thursday.
The healthcare group, in a statement, said the farmer had “waited for over three months at different hospitals for a heart transplant”.
The patient with no co-morbidities was healthy until early this year, and had one episode of heart failure in early January with severe mitral regurgitation, i.e. blood in his heart was flowing backward as the mitral valve between his upper left heart chamber (left atrium) and the lower left heart chamber (left ventricle) was not closing tightly, said Dr Sai Satish, senior interventional cardiologist, Apollo hospital, Chennai.
He went into refractory heart failure and was put on the heart transplant list. Even on maximum possible medication, his condition was worsening. With no heart available for transplant, he was brought to Apollo Hospital, and his heart function was only 15 percent when he was admitted, and it has improved to 30 per cent in five days after the procedure, he said.
Apollo performing ‘MirtraClip’ procedure since 2019
MitraClip was introduced by Apollo Hospitals in India just three years ago. The first MitraClip was implanted in 2003 in a patient in the US. It was a game-changing procedure and was made commercially available in Europe in 2008 and in the US in 2013.
Our experience in this domain has enabled us to achieve many milestones including back-to-back MitraClip implants in four very sick patients in just one day earlier this year, at the height of the second wave of the pandemic.
With this latest procedure, Dr. Sai Satish of Apollo Chennai, who has performed over 70 per cent of all cases in India, says they are only looking at bigger and more remarkable milestones in the journey ahead.
Dr Sai Satish can be contacted for this procedure @ 82202 77777
93812 77777 and e-mail: doc@saisatish.com
Cost of procedure
When asked about the cost of procedure, Dr Sai Satish said the cost of imported MitraClip come to around Rs. 25 lakhs and the hospital would charge anywhere between Rs. 2 and Rs. 3 lakhs for the procedure.
Advantages of ‘MitraClip’ implantations
MitraClip implants give a new lease of life for 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 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.
Efficacy of this procedure is 87.5 pc
The hospital group in the statement claimed that 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 percent of cases and 30-day survival was 100 percent”.
From the horse’s mouth
Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “As one of the few hospitals in India accredited to perform the MitraClip procedure, being able to save the life of a patient waiting for a heart transplant gives us the ability to offer hope to many others.”
Patients with severe or end-stage heart failure comprise up to 10 percent of patients 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, Reddy said.
Today over 100,000 patients in more than 50 countries have undergone the MitraClip procedure, the healthcare group said.
No GST/customs duty exemption for Mitra Clip import
Preetha Reddy clarified to the ‘navjeevanexpress.com’ that the Government of India is not extending any kind of tax exemption including GST/Customs duty for importing the life saving ‘Mitra Clip’ device, if it comes forward, it would be of great help to those who are really in need of it and it would be affordable for common men, she added.
