Important breakthroughs have considerably improved the outcomes of the percutaneous treatment of valvular heart diseases during the last decades. However, calcium deposition and progressive calcification of the left-sided heart valves present a challenge with prognostic implications that have not been addressed until recently. In the case of native mitral stenosis with no surgical options, a compelling need for tackling heavily calcified valves has led to the development of novel debulking techniques and to the use of aortic balloon-expandable bioprosthesis in the mitral position. In this section of the special issue "Mitral Valve Disease: State of the Art", we will review standard approaches and indications for the treatment of native mitral stenosis; summarize these two innovative solutions and their evidence, describing both procedures in a "step-by-step" fashion; and briefly comment on future directions in this field.
Keywords: lithotripsy; mitral annular calcifications; mitral stenosis; percutaneous mitral commissurotomy; percutaneous valve intervention; transcatheter valves; valvular heart disease.