58-yr-old with comorbidities treated with indigenously developed Mitral Clip device

CHENNAI: A city hospital has successfully treated a 58-year-old woman suffering from severe kidney disease (on dialysis) with liver problems, and advanced heart disease, using India's indigenously developed Mitral Clip device, MyClip first time in TN.

For three years, the patient struggled with severe breathlessness, swollen feet, and extreme fatigue, unable to carry out daily activities. She was diagnosed with severe Mitral Regurgitation (MR), a heart valve condition where blood leaks backward in the heart, causing worsening symptoms and heart failure risk.

Traditional treatment options like open-heart surgery or heart transplant were too risky and were not taken under consideration due to her age and other health problems. Medicines alone were not enough.

The Make in India initiative, Meril, an Indian medical technology company, recently launched the MyClip mitral valve repair device after receiving the Medical Certification Board’s regulatory approval. Previously, only imported devices were available, which were unaffordable for most Indians.

Dr Ajith Pillai, chief cardiologist, Kauvery Hospital, performed the procedure. Without the need for open-heart surgery, the device was placed via a small tube through a blood vessel. The patient’s symptoms improved and she is now able to manage her daily routine.

Dr Pillai said, “Patients with severe MR are often at high surgical risk due to age, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, frailty, or co-existing kidney, lung, and liver problems. If untreated, MR has devastating outcomes like more than 50% may not survive, and one-year mortality can be as high as 57%.”