Mitral valve regurgitation is a condition caused by an irregular anatomical structure of the heart. Also known as ‘leaky heart valve’, this condition affects your blood flow and causes your blood to leak in the reverse direction, from the left ventricle to right atrium. Many people suffering from mitral valve regurgitation will experience exhaustion and shortness of breath due to the ineffective or abnormal flow of blood. 

What Is The MitraClip?

For patients who are suffering from mitral valve regurgitation, a new minimally invasive heart surgery comes in the form of the Mitraclip device. The Mitraclip surgery is a treatment for severe mitral regurgitation, one that does not require open-heart surgery, where a clip/clasp like device that is placed in the heart to hold the leaking valve.

The Mitraclip is inserted in the patient’s leg through a catheter by making a small incision near the groin area. The cardiologist will then proceed to clip together a small area of the valve leaflets that brings the leaflets closer together, reduces the leak in the valve, and allows blood to flow forward on both sides of the clip. With the correct positioning of the Mitraclip, the mitral regurgitation is reduced to minimal levels successfully. In many cases, one Mitraclip may not be enough and a second or third may need to be deployed to achieve the desired results.

MitraClip In India

Recently, this surgery was conducted by a team of interventional cardiologists at Medanta – The Medicity (www.medanta.org). The team was led by Dr. Praveen Chandra, Chairman, Interventional Cardiology, Heart Institute alongside Dr. Saibal Kar, a world-renowned interventional cardiologist, who operated upon two patients suffering from mitral valve regurgitation to relieve them of serious life risk.

Dr. Praveen explains that the Mitraclip surgery is performed in severe cases of heart valve leakage in which the patient stops responding to medicines and cannot undergo a standard open heart valve/replacement surgery. These can be attributed to risk factors such as age, weakness or a history of heart surgery.

For such patients, the Mitraclip surgery is a boon and is considered a safe alternative to traditionally prescribed valve surgery. Compared to a heart valve/replacement surgery, Mitraclip surgery is a simple procedure which offers immediate recovery and a post-operative discharge in just 2 days.

Dr. Naresh Trehan, Chairman and Managing Director, Medanta, adds, “Medanta strives to enhance patient access to the best possible treatment system benchmarked to global standards. The MitraClip procedure illustrates our deep commitment to cutting-edge techniques and patient-centric clinical excellence.”