A case of mitral valve replacement with a collar-reinforced prosthetic valve for heavily calcified mitral annulus.

Mitral valve replacement in the presence of extensive calcification of the mitral annulus is a technical challenge. Dense calcification of the annulus can cause a great difficulty in the insertion of a prosthetic valve and later periprosthetic leakage. A radical calcium debridement may cause left circumflex coronary artery injury, atrioventricular rupture, and thromboembolic events. We report a case of a 65-year-old woman suffering from mitral regurgitation with a severely calcified mitral annulus. She underwent mitral valve replacement using a collar-reinforced prosthetic valve, which allowed the surgeon to safely insert a prosthetic valve, avoiding the calcification completely without any major complications. We recommend this method as a feasible technique for mitral valve replacement in the presence of heavily calcified or disrupted fragile mitral annulus.