NE HEALTH BUREAU
CHENNAI, MAR 17
Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals group on Tuesday highlighted the importance of the minimally invasive MitraClip therapy as a lifesaver for patients at high surgical risk and announced the successful completion of four of these procedures in one day here.
The minimally invasive method used in MitraClip therapy allows repair of a leaking mitral valve without open-heart surgery, Apollo Hospitals said.
“With the MitraClip, we can treat patients with severe mitral regurgitation who are at prohibitive surgical risk and offer them a second lease of life. To date, over 100,000 patients in more than 50 countries have undergone the MitraClip procedure,” Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said.
Apollo Hospitals, India is the first in Asia to perform four back-to-back MitraClip procedures in a day. #MitraClip #MitraClipProcedures pic.twitter.com/Gx6ajnWnGv
— HospitalsApollo (@HospitalsApollo) March 16, 2021
Addressing a press conference, he said that “what we did today is to replace heart surgery”.
With this, the Apollo has surpassed the previous record of Japan, where three MitraClip implant procedures were performed in a single day.
Dr. Sai Satish, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals who had performed the procedures said, “We have been performing MitraClip procedures for about three years now. It was the confidence gained through the extensive experience that enabled us to perform back-to-back MitraClip implants in four very sick patients in a single day. With the support of an experienced medical and paramedical team working seamlessly in tandem, we were able to complete the four back-to-back MitraClip procedures like clockwork. This success has boosted the confidence of the entire team at Apollo Hospitals.”
Dr. Sai Satish said, especially for the frail and elderly, there is a very little avenue for conventional mitral valve surgery.
“The MitraClip is the only percutaneous technology effective in both functional and degenerative mitral regurgitation,” he added.
When asked about the cost of the procedure, Satish said the cost of the procedure is Rs 25 lakh.
All four patients, the oldest of whom was 87-years-old, went home walking within 3 days and are currently leading a normal life.
I am 84, but feels like 48 after MitraClip procedure, says a patient
84 year old Thomas Jayaraj of Tirunelveli district who had undergone the MitraClip procedure said, he feels young at heart at the press conference.
Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide. Studies also indicate an alarming burden of heart failure in India with a staggering prevalence of about 4.6 million patients with heart failure in India. Keeping with our industry-leading initiatives of bringing the best and latest in medical technology for the benefit of patients in India, we introduced MitraClip for the treatment of patients with mitral valve leaks, a condition that has a very little avenue of treatment, especially for the elderly in their 80s. Among the first patients successfully treated with MitraClip was an 88-year-old patient.”
13 out of the total 21 MitraClip procedures done in India were from Apollo Hospitals, she added.
Dr. Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group was also present at the press conference.
Echo Connect Project
Apollo Hospitals is also developing the Echo Connect Project that will allow scaling up of this program to detect leaking mitral valves at a nationwide level.
Dr. Sai Satish working with Prof. K Chandrashekaran, Sr. Consultant Cardiologist at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai envisages the Echo Connect Project to enable specialists in Chennai to provide an expert opinion on echocardiography conducted across the country, detect a defective mitral valve and refer them to the apex center at Apollo Chennai for this life-saving MitraClip procedure.
A recent landmark trial shows that transcatheter mitral valve repair using the MitraClip along with guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) was superior to GDMT alone in reducing hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and mortality in symptomatic HF patients with grade 3-4+ Mitral Regurgitation. Improvements were also observed in left ventricule (LV) dimensions and patient symptoms. Significant improvements were noted in quality of life (QoL) measurements starting at 1 month and sustained out to 24 months. MitraClip also demonstrated excellent safety.
