UDRUŽENJE KARDIOLOGA SRBIJE CARDIOLOGY SOCIETY OF SERBIA Percutaneous repair of mitral regurgitation with the Mitraclip system: clinical indications and first Slovenian experience

Corresponding author: Jana Ambrožič, Zaloška 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: [email protected] The MitraClip is the first percutaneous therapy for mitral regurgitation. It can be used in both etiologies: primary (degenerative) and secondary (functional) mitral regurgitation. The technique mimics surgical suture-based approach by implanting a clip that grasps free edges of both leaflets and creates dual mitral valve orifice. After Conformité Européenne (CE) mark in 2008, the MitraClip system is increasingly used in Europe for both types of mitral regurgitation. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so far has approved the Mitraclip only for patients with severe primary mitral regurgitation who are at high surgical risk. The decision for the MitraClip therapy should be accepted within the heart team. Transesophageal echocardiography plays a key role in selection of the patients, procedural guidance and follow-up and is essential to the Mitraclip success. First Mitraclip implantation performed in Slovenia is presented.