Artemis Hospital, a leading healthcare institution in the region, has successfully performed the first-ever MitraClip procedure in the hospital. The procedure was performed on a patient suffering from severe mitral valve regurgitation, a condition where the mitral valve fails to close properly, causing blood to leak back into the heart.
The MitraClip procedure is a minimally invasive heart procedure that repairs the mitral valve without the need for open-heart surgery. The procedure involves inserting a small clip into the heart through a catheter, which is then used to attach the two leaflets of the mitral valve together, allowing the valve to close properly. This procedure is a relatively new technique, and only a few hospitals in India offer this treatment. Artemis Hospital is now among the few hospitals in the region to offer this advanced treatment option.
The procedure was successfully performed by a team of cardiac surgeons led by Dr Amit Kumar Chaurasia, chief of Cath Lab & TAVI (Unit I) at Artemis Hospital.
According to Dr Amit Kumar Chaurasia, “We are extremely pleased to have successfully performed the MitraClip procedure for the first time at Artemis Hospital. This is a significant milestone for us and demonstrates our commitment to providing the latest and most advanced treatments to our patients. The MitraClip procedure is particularly beneficial for patients who are not suitable for open-heart surgery due to age, frailty, or other medical conditions. It also offers a faster recovery time.”
He added, “The patient who underwent this procedure was a 79-year-old male with normal coronary artery severe MR, mild LV dysfunction, severe COPD, and severe rheumatoid arthritis. The patient was very symptomatic and due to breathlessness was unable to do any activity. He could not even sleep at night or lie down flat on the bed. The option for him was to go for high-risk surgical mitral valve replacement or Mitraclip. Surgical MVR was refused due to anesthesia reasons, hence Mitraclip was planned for the patient. A transesophageal echocardiogram showed mitral valve leakage from two different segments due to chordal rupture, the chord was calcified and this would cause a further problem during the procedure. The patient’s relatives agreed to the procedure and a successful Mitraclip was done with three clips, which reduced his MR from severe to trivial to mild. The patient was shifted to ICU for one day and then to the room and he started walking on day 2 of the procedure.”
Mitraclip is a lifesaving procedure for patients with severe MR who cannot undergo surgical mitral valve replacement. The advantages are short ICU stay, the chest need not be opened and so early discharge from the hospital. This was the first such case at Artemis Hospital.
The MitraClip procedure is a breakthrough in the field of cardiology, as it offers a safe and effective alternative to open-heart surgery for patients suffering from mitral valve regurgitation. The procedure is performed under local anesthesia and does not require a lengthy hospital stay or a prolonged recovery period, allowing patients to resume their normal activities soon after the procedure.
Dr Devlina Chakravarty, MD & CEO at Artemis Hospital said, “We are proud to have successfully performed our first MitraClip procedure at Artemis Hospital. This is a significant achievement for our hospital and is a testament to our team’s commitment to providing the highest quality of care to our patients. The MitraClip procedure is a game-changer for patients with mitral valve disease, as it offers a safe and effective alternative to open-heart surgery.”
