Intra-atrial implantation of a mitral valve prosthesis in a heavily calcified mitral annulus.

Extensive annular calcification of the mitral valve can make anatomic implantation of a prosthesis extremely difficult and challenging. We herein describe a surgical technique of mitral valve replacement in a 78-year-old man with multiple medical co-morbidities suffering from severe mitral regurgitation with extensive circumferential calcification of the mitral annulus. The pertinent literature is reviewed and the technical steps and clinical presentation are discussed.