Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals have been performing a new minimally invasive procedure to treat mitral regurgitation that has seen promising outcomes.
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is leakage of blood backward through the mitral valve each time the left ventricle contracts. The leaking valve causes blood to flow the wrong way and back into the left atrium. This makes the heart work harder to push blood around the body. Patients may experience fatigue, shortness of breath and worsening heart failure. MR can also put further pressure on the pulmonary vessels and in severe cases this can result in congestion in the lungs.
Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals have been performing a new minimally invasive procedure to treat mitral regurgitation that has seen promising outcomes.
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is leakage of blood backward through the mitral valve each time the left ventricle contracts. The leaking valve causes blood to flow the wrong way and back into the left atrium. This makes the heart work harder to push blood around the body. Patients may experience fatigue, shortness of breath and worsening heart failure. MR can also put further pressure on the pulmonary vessels and in severe cases this can result in congestion in the lungs.
Mitral valve repair or replacement is a procedure normally requiring open heart surgery which, in older or frailer patients, can be associated with a higher risk and longer recovery time. MitraClip® (Abbott Vascular) is a relatively new ‘keyhole’ technique that offers a less invasive approach to conventional surgery.
With MitraClip®, the mitral valve is repaired through the skin. A catheter is inserted through the top of the patient’s leg and via the femoral vein. The procedure does not require cardiopulmonary bypass and is performed on the beating-heart. A small hole is made to enable the catheter to cross from the right to the left side of the heart and the MitraClip® is steered into the left atrium. This small device is then used to literally ‘clip’ the leaking portions of the valve leaflets together.
The procedure is performed by Consultant Interventional Cardiologists Dr Robert Smith and Prof Carlo Di Mario. It usually takes between two and three hours and patients are normally discharged from hospital within a couple of days. In international randomised trials, MitraClip® treatment has been proven to reduce MR, provide a faster recovery for patients and improve their quality of life.
If you would like to find out further information on this new treatment or book an appointment with Dr Rob Smith at Harefield Hospital or Prof Carlo Di Mario at Royal Brompton, please contact the RB&HH Specialist Care Team on privatepatients@rbht.nhs.uk or telephone 02031 315 048.
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