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Background: Treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR) in the setting of severe mitral annular calcification (MAC) is challenging due to the high risk for fatal atrioventricular groove disruption and significant paravalvular leak.Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential for transcatheter mitral valve replacement in patients with severe MAC using an anatomically designed mitral prosthesis.Methods: Nine patients (77 ± 6 years of age; 5 men) were treated with the valve, using transapical delivery performed under general anesthesia and with guidance from transesophageal echocardiography and fluoroscopy.Results: Device implantation was successful with relief of MR in all 9 patients. There were no procedural deaths. In 1 patient, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction occurred due to malrotation of the prosthesis, and successful alcohol septal ablation was performed. During a median follow-up of 12 months (range 1 to 28 months), there was 1 cardiac death, 1 noncardiac death, no other mortality, and no prosthetic dysfunction, and MR remained absent in all treated patients. Rehospitalization for heart failure occurred in 2 patients who did not die subsequently. Clinical improvement with mild or no symptoms occurred in all patients alive at the end of follow-up.Conclusions: Transcatheter mitral valve replacement in severe mitral annular calcification with a dedicated prosthesis is feasible and can result in MR relief with symptom improvement. Further evaluation of this approach for these high-risk patients is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe mitral regurgitation (MR) conveys significant morbidity and mortality, and surgical repair or replacement may not be a desirable option.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a percutaneous transseptal transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system.Methods: This first-in-human study was conducted between August 2017 and August 2018. The system comprises a nitinol dock, which encircles the chordae tendineae, and a balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valve. The dock and transcatheter heart valve form an ensemble, with the native mitral valve leaflets secured in between, thereby abolishing MR. Key inclusion criteria were severe symptomatic MR and high surgical risk; exclusion criteria included left ventricular ejection fraction <30% or screening suggesting unfavorable anatomy. The primary endpoint was technical success as defined by Mitral Valve Academic Research Consortium (MVARC) criteria at completion of the index procedure. The secondary endpoint was freedom from mortality, stroke, and device dysfunction (MR grade >1, mitral gradient >6 mm Hg, left ventricular outflow tract gradient >20 mm Hg) at 30 days.Results: Ten patients with severe MR of various etiologies (4 degenerative, 4 functional, and 2 mixed) were treated. The device was successfully implanted and the primary endpoint was achieved in 9 of 10 patients (90%). By transesophageal echocardiography, total MR was reduced to ≤ trivial in all implanted patients, and mean transmitral gradient was 2.3 ± 1.4 mm Hg. A pericardial effusion occurred in 1 patient: pericardiocentesis was performed, and the device was not implanted. Median length of hospital stay was 1.5 days. At 30 days, there was no stroke, myocardial infarction, rehospitalization, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, device migration, embolization, or conversion to mitral surgery. One patient had recurrent regurgitation due to a paravalvular leak, treated with a closure device. All other treated patients had ≤1+ MR. No patients died.Conclusions: Percutaneous transvenous transseptal TMVR is feasible and safe in patients with severe MR who are at high risk for mitral valve surgery. Further evaluation is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]