• Giuseppe Bruschi, Federico De Marco, Alberto Barosi, Paola Colombo, Luca Botta, Sandra Nonini, Luigi Martinelli, and Silvio Klugmann.
• A De Gasperis Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery Department, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy. giuseppe.bruschi@fastwebnet.it
• Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2013 Jul 1; 17 (1): 90-5.

ObjectivesTranscatheter aortic valve implantation has emerged as a valuable option to treat patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, who are not being considered for surgery because of significant comorbidities. Concerns exist over treating patients who have previously undergone mitral valve surgery for possible interference between the percutaneous aortic valve and the mitral prosthesis or ring.MethodsAt our centre, from May 2008 to December 2012, 172 patients (76 male) with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis were eligible for transcatheter aortic valve implant. Nine patients, affected by severe aortic stenosis, had previously undergone mitral valve surgery (4 mono-leaflet, 3 bileaflet, 1 bioprosthesis, 1 mitral ring); they were considered high-risk surgical candidates following joint evaluation by cardiac surgeons and cardiologist and had undergone TAVI.ResultsSeven patients underwent standard femoral retrograde CoreValve(®) (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, USA) implantation, two patients underwent a direct aortic implantation through a mini-thoracotomy. All patients experienced immediate improvement of their haemodynamic status. No deformation of the nitinol tubing of the CoreValve, nor distortion or malfunction of the mechanical valve or mitral ring, occurred as assessed by echographical and fluoroscopic evaluation. No major postoperative complications occurred. In all patients , echocardiography indicated normal valve function during follow-up.ConclusionsOur experience confirms the feasibility of CoreValve implantation in patients with mechanical mitral valves or mitral annuloplasty ring.

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