Repairing or replacing the mitral valve would normally require open heart surgery. For patients who are older or frail, this can be a high-risk procedure and have a longer recovery time. 

A MitraClip is a relatively new device that is implanted percutaneously (through the skin) using a catheter, which is inserted via a vein at the top of the leg. The device is then used to “clip” the leaking portions of the mitral valve.  

The procedure normally only takes between two and three hours, and patients will be discharged from hospital within a couple of days. The treatment has been shown to reduce MR, enable faster recovery and improve quality of life. 

Within the Trust, the MitraClip procedure is carried out by consultant interventional cardiologists, Dr Robert Smith and Professor Carlo Di Mario.

Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is one of only three centres in the UK that has been commissioned to implant 40 MitraClips a year by the Department of Health’s Commissioning through Evaluation programme, which aims to offer patients access to promising new treatments while gathering new data.