Ahmedabad: A team of cardiologists at the Apollo CVHF Heart Institute at Ahmedabad performed a minimally invasive procedure called Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair (PMVR) on a 92-year old man in what was reported to be the first such case in Gujarat.
Mitral regurgitation, a common heart abnormality, is caused by the backflow of blood from the left ventricle of the heart into the left atrium through the mitral valve.
Addressing media persons at a press conference on Tuesday at Apollo CVHF Heart Institute, Dr Sameer Dani, director of cardiology services at the hospital, said that while maximum cases can be treated with medicines, in severe cases valve repair is required, which can be done in two ways — either through an open heart surgery or by the minimally invasive PMVR technique.
“You will find mitral regurgitation in two out of 100 people and the incidence only increases with age. (PMVR technique) has an almost 98-99 per cent success rate, provided the case selection (for applying this technique) is proper. Ideal profile would be someone with very severe mitral regurgitation, very symptomatic and who are not good candidates for invasive surgery – either because of age or comorbidities,” said Dr Dani.
According to Dr Dani, nearly 50 such procedures have been done in India, with the procedure on the 92-year old man being a first in Gujarat.
The ‘MitraClip’ — the device by Abbott, which stitches the valve shut — costs Rs 25 lakh and the right-side of the heart is reached through the femoral artery in the leg. A small puncture is made through the septum in the heart to reach the left side where the valve leakage is repaired by a stitch or a staple, which is the MitraClip. “Risk of mortality during surgery is very very low, less than 0.1 percent. While no one has died on the operating table (of the nearly 50 surgeries conducted in India), risks of the surgery include that of being under anesthesia, or risk of stroke. There is one key procedural risk, which is if the puncture on the septum is not done properly. Some other complications may involve the mitral leak not being controlled or even after the stitch, the leak may continue,” said Dr Dani.
The 92-year old man who was operated on, had made the rounds of hospitals six times, before zeroing in on the procedure at Apollo CVHF Hospital. A bladder cancer survivor, the patient was operated on by US-based Gujarati interventional cardiologist Dr Raj Makka, US-based cardiologist Dr Tarun Chakr-avarty, US-based cardiac anesthesiologist Dr Moody Makar, interventional cardiologist from Chennai Apollo Hospitals Dr Sai Satish and Dr Dani.
