German surgeons say they have been successful in using transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation in elderly high-risk patients. 

Doctors at the University Heart Center in Hamburg, Germany, say the minimally invasive procedure was used as an alternative treatment option for patients who were at high surgical risk. 

Dr. Moritz Seiffert and colleagues report on their experience with transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation in five patients -- mean age 82 -- with significant degeneration of 15.4 years after aortic and mitral valve replacement. 

"Transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation offers an alternative treatment option for elderly patients who have disproportional operative risks," Seiffert says in a statement. "The doctors highlight that reoperative valve surgery was not an option in these candidates and valve-in-valve implantation turned out to be a valuable bail-out procedure.

The findings are published in the journal Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. 

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