Mechanical interference between a closure device and the rigid stent of mitral bioprosthesis: a mechanism for closure device late dislodgement.

We report here the mechanical interference between mitral bioprostheses and devices currently adopted for percutaneous paravalvular leak closure as a possible cause for late dislodgement and embolization of successfully implanted and apparently stable closure devices.The images included in this study demonstrate that the topographical relationship of the target leak with the bioprosthetic valve posts may be a major obstacle for device stability after percutaneous paravalvular leak closure procedures.