Cardiac valve diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. In third world countries, inflammatory rheumatic valve disease in the young represents an endemic calamity, while in Western countries, degenerative valve diseases like senile calcific aortic stenosis and mitral valve prolapse as a result of mucoid degeneration with incompetence are major causes of death in adults/the elderly. Since the 1960s, surgical valve replacement has been the only treatment option, requiring sternotomy, cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac arrest. Permanent anticoagulation for mechanical valves and the limited durability of biological valves constituted significant drawbacks; moreover, these surgeries often requires surgical replacement.

The cardiac registry at the University of Padua, Italy, has gathered more than twelve hundred cases of failed prosthetic valves, offering a unique resource for teaching and research. Conservative valve repair using minimally invasive technique showed that replacement of the native valve with sternotomy can be spared. Moreover, in the last decade venous or arterial approaches like TAVI were developed. Presenting the essential surgical and interventional anatomy and pathology in detail, this book offers a valuable tool for cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and pathologists, as well as people in training and scientists working in the field of medical devices and biological compatibility.