Animal preparation
The
animal study was approved by the local hospital’s ethics committee with
a project license (NO.2018-DW-006). All animal procedures were completed
under the ”Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” issued by
the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.
Pigs
weighing 55-75Kg were selected for the valve intervention.
All
animals were fasted and deprived of water eight hours before surgery.
Transthoracic
cardiac echocardiography was performed to measure mitral anatomy before
valved stent deployment.
The
maximum diameter of the mitral annulus and mitral area were accurately
measured for subsequent study. (Figure 2 A&B)