Advanced Protocol for Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography Guidance Implementing Real-Time Multiplanar Reconstruction for Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair by Direct Annuloplasty

Transcatheter direct annuloplasty has been introduced as a novel interventional treatment option for severe mitral valve regurgitation. Until now, only one direct annuloplasty device (Edwards Cardioband) has been commercially available, being implanted in more than 250 patients worldwide. Yet this procedure poses greater challenges regarding optimal fluoroscopic and echocardiographic guidance compared with edge-to-edge repair: correct localization and orientation of the anchors upon penetration into the fibrous mitral annulus tissue and the basal left ventricular myocardium are preconditions for an optimal result and essential to avoid damage of the neighboring structures (atrioventricular node, circumflex artery, coronary sinus). Real-time single-beat multiplanar reconstruction has become available as an additional imaging tool for three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in most recent echo machines. In this review, we introduce a three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography-based imaging protocol implementing real-time multiplanar reconstruction for transcatheter direct annuloplasty procedures, which optimizes and also simplifies echocardiographic guidance during the implantation. The advanced echocardiographic protocol might also help to expedite implantation times and potentially increase the safety of the procedure. In this "how-to" article, we describe in detail this novel approach for optimized guidance and compare its advantages and challenges to "conventional" echocardiographic imaging for transcatheter mitral valve repair.