A Technical Review of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Replacements

Mitral regurgitation is one of the most common forms of heart valve disorder, which may result in heart failure. Due to the rapid ageing of the population, surgical repair and replacement treatments, which have represented an effective treatment in the past, are now unsuitable for about half of symptomatic patients, who are judged high-risk. Encouraged by the positive experience with transcatheter aortic valves and percutaneous reconstructive mitral treatments, a number of research groups are currently engaged in the development of minimally invasive approaches for the functional replacement of the mitral valve. The first experiences have clearly demonstrated that the approach is feasible and promising, though significant progress is still required in the prostheses design and implantation procedures before the treatment can establish as a safe and effective solution. This review analyses the devices currently at a most advanced stage of development, describing their main features and the technical solutions that they adopt in order to respond to the functional requirements of the most challenging of the heart valves.