3D printing from transesophageal echocardiography for planning mitral paravalvular leak closure - feasibility study.

Introduction: Transcatheter closure of paravalvular leak (PVL) is still a demanding procedure due to the complex anatomy of PVL channels and risk of interference between the implanted occluder and surrounding structures. Efforts are made to improve procedural outcomes in transcatheter structural heart interventions by establishing treatment strategy in advance with the use of 3D-printed physical models based on data obtained from cardiac computed tomography (CT) studies.

Aim: In this feasibility study 3D printing of PVL models based on data recorded during transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) examinations was evaluated.