Echocardiographic and Clinical Outcomes of Central Versus Noncentral Percutaneous Edge-to-Edge Repair of Degenerative Mitral Regurgitation

Percutaneous edge to edge repair with MitraClip is typically used in situations of central mitral insufficiency (MI). In this study, the authors evaluate the applicability of this technique in non-central MI. They have carried out a retrospective analysis of their own results in a group of 79 patients. Although patients with non-central MI had higher pulmonary pressures and wider basal vena contracta, there were no significant differences in procedural success or complications. In addition, there were no significant differences in all-cause mortality, readmission for heart failure, residual MI and NYHA status at 1 and 6 months. Although the study is probably too small in size as to provide strong evidence, the results suggest that non-central MI could be amenable to treatment with percutaneous edge to edge repair techniques.