Patent ID: 8808367

Claim:
An access system for implanting an expandable heart valve prosthesis at an aortic valve annulus in a patient's heart, the access system comprising: a transthoracic access port, including one or more hemostasis valves or seals, that are configured to be used at or near an opening in a left ventricle, and a second port, including one or more hemostasis valves or seals, that are configured to be used at or near an aortic wall opening; a guidewire having a sufficient size and length to extend through a first opening in the patient's body, through the opening in the patient's aortic wall, through the patient's aorta, through the valve annulus in the patient's heart, through the opening in the left ventricle at or near an apex of the patient's heart, and through an opening in the patient's thoracoabdominal region, the guidewire being structurally continuous and having a sufficient length to extend continuously between the transthoracic access port and the second port; a first module configured for retrograde delivery along the guidewire through the first opening and through the aortic wall opening toward the valve annulus; and a second module, not mechanically coupled to the first module, the second module configured for antegrade delivery along the guidewire through the thoracoabdominal region opening and the opening in the ventricle toward the valve annulus; wherein the first or second module is selected from a group consisting of a ballooning module, a leaflet cutting or removal module, an annulus sizing module, an expandable valve prosthesis module, a pump module, and a debris catching module.