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A 70-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for severe tricuspid regurgitation caused by cardioverter-defibrillator lead impingement; treatment with MitraClip system (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA) was attempted. After realizing the impossibility of grasping in the regurgitant area because of extensive leaflets gap, we implanted a clip in another commissure, even in the absence of regurgitation originating from that area. In this way, we achieved a significant acute valve remodelling, which allowed the subsequent successful deployment of a second clip in the regurgitant area. This proposed dual-staged approach can be considered systematically for the treatment of anatomies generally regarded as unfavourable or unsuitable.

La evidencia sobre los resultados de la intervención y la evolución clínica de los pacientes tratados con armazones bioabsorbibles solapados en comparación con los tratados con stentsliberadores de everolimus solapados es escasa. Se evalúan los resultados de pacientes tratados con armazones solapados frente a los tratados con stentsliberadores de everolimus emparejados por puntuación de propensión.

Objectives Paravalvular leaks (PVL) occur in up to 17% of all surgically implanted prosthetic valves. Re-operation is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter closure via a surgical transapical approach (TAp) is an emerging alternative for selected high-risk patients with PVL. The aim of this study was to compare the in-hospital outcomes of patients who underwent surgery and TA-closure for PVL in our single-centre experience. Methods From October 2000 to June 2013, 139 patients with PVL were treated in our Institution. All the TA procedures were performed under general anaesthesia in a hybrid operative room: in all but one case an Amplatzer Vascular Plug III device was utilized. Results Hundred and thirty-nine patients with PVL were treated: 122 patients (87.3%) underwent surgical treatment (68% mitral PVL; 32% aortic PVL) and 17 patients (12.2%) underwent a transcatheter closure via a surgical TAp approach (all the patients had mitral PVL; one case had combined mitral and aortic PVLs); in 35% of surgical patients and in 47% of TAp patients, multiple PVLs were present. The mean age was 62.5 ± 11 years; the Logistic EuroScore was 15.4 ± 3. Most of the patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III–IV (57%). Symptomatic haemolysis was present in 35% of the patients, and it was particularly frequent in the TAp (70%). Many patients had >1 previous cardiac operation (46% overall and 82% of TAp patients were at their second of re-operation). Acute procedural success was 98%. In-hospital mortality was 9.3%; no in-hospital deaths occurred in patients treated through a TAp approach. All the patients had less than moderate residual valve regurgitation after the procedure. Surgical treatment was identified as a risk factor for in-hospital death at univariate analysis (OR: 8, 95% CI: 1.8–13; P = 0.05). Overall actuarial survival at follow-up was 39.8 ± 7% at 12 years and it was reduced in patients who had >1 cardiac re-operation (42 ± 8 vs. 63 ± 6% at 9 years; P = 0.009). Conclusions A transcatheter closure via a surgical TAp approach appears to be a safe and effective therapeutic option in selected high-risk patients with PVL and is associated with a lower hospital mortality than surgical treatment, in spite of higher predicted risk. Long-term survival remains suboptimal in these challenging patients.