It was a minimally invasive process, where the device was inserted through a blood vessel without open-heart surgery.
Published Nov 01, 2025 | 3:34 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 01, 2025 | 3:34 PM
Representational image. Credit: iStock
Synopsis: Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, used India’s first indigenous MyClip device to treat a 58-year-old woman with severe mitral regurgitation, kidney, liver, and heart issues. The minimally invasive procedure avoided risky surgery, rapidly improving symptoms. This ‘Make in India’ innovation offers affordable, life-saving care for 1.5 million Indians with high-risk MR.
Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, has achieved a medical milestone by successfully treating a 58-year-old woman suffering from severe kidney disease (on dialysis), liver problems, and advanced heart disease, using India’s first indigenously developed mitral clip device—MyClip.
The success represents a major step forward in making advanced cardiac care accessible and affordable in India.
For three years, the patient endured breathlessness, swollen feet, and fatigue, unable to carry out daily activities.
She was diagnosed with severe Mitral Regurgitation (MR), a condition in which blood leaks backward in the heart, causing worsening symptoms and increasing the risk of heart failure.
Traditional treatment options, including open-heart surgery or heart transplant, were considered too risky due to her age and other medical complications. Medicines alone were not effective, prompting doctors to explore safer alternatives.
Under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Indian company Meril developed the MyClip mitral valve repair device after receiving Medical Certification Board approval, offering a cost-effective substitute for expensive imported devices.
The procedure was performed by Professor Dr Ajith Pillai, Chief Cardiologist and HOD at Kauvery Hospital, Radial Road. It was a minimally invasive process, where the device was inserted through a blood vessel without open-heart surgery.
The patient’s symptoms improved significantly, and she was able to resume her normal routinesoon after.
“Patients with severe mitral regurgitation are often at high surgical risk due to age, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, frailty, or co-existing kidney, lung, and liver problems,” said Pillai.
Adding that, “If untreated, MR has devastating outcomes, more than 50 percent may not survive, and one-year mortality can be as high as 57 percent. For such patients, this non-surgical MyClip procedure offers a life-saving alternative.”
Around 1.5 million Indians suffer from severe mitral regurgitation, many being elderly with multiple health issues. The availability of the MyClip device at Kauvery Hospital, Radial Road, ensures that more patients in Tamil Nadu and across India can now access advanced cardiac care at a lower cost.
The collaboration between Kauvery Hospital and Meril is helping transform Indian healthcare, bringing world-class treatments within reach of more patients than ever before.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev with inputs from Veni EN)
