Left heart catheterization by direct ventricular puncture: withstanding the test of time.

If retrograde arterial catheterization of the left ventricle fails because of a stenosed native or tissue valve or is contraindicated because of the presence of a mechanical aortic prosthesis, then alternative routes of access to the left ventricle are either transseptal or direct (transapical) left ventricular puncture. The transseptal approach is contraindicated in the presence of a mechanical mitral valve prosthesis. Under these circumstances we have used direct transapical left ventricular puncture in the treatment of 112 patients and have found this technique to be successful with little associated risk. A major complication occurred in 3% of the patients, but the study provided the required data in 95%, and these figures compare favorably with the reported results of transseptal catheterization.