This paper discusses a female patient with severe aortic stenosis, who was preoperatively assessed to be at high risk of left coronary artery occlusion, but developed complete occlusion of the right coronary artery during the procedure of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, leading to hemodynamic disorder. Surgical treatment under emergency cardiopulmonary bypass played a critical role in rescuing the patient.
The implantation of bioprosthetic heart valves have increased dramatically due to the aging population and the widespread application of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR is increasingly being used in younger, lower-risk patients with a longer life expectancy, so it is important to overcome structural valve degeneration and ensure long-term TAVR durability. Although the mid-term durability results of the TAVR valve are encouraging, its long-term durability needs to be further explored. This article will mainly introduce the influencing factors of TAVR valve durability, evaluation criteria for structural valve degeneration, clinical research results related to TAVR valve durability, and problems to be solved.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive approach to treat symptomatic severe aortic stenosis with surgical taboos or high risk. With the update of the guidelines, the indication of TAVR has been extended to the intermediate-risk aortic stenosis population, and even has a tendency to further expand to the low-risk population. This review highlights the research progress and new evidence of TAVR in respects of patient selection, valve and approach selection, ethnic differences, and surgical complications such as perivalvular leakage, cardiac conduction block, vascular complications, stroke, acute kidney injury, and coronary artery occlusion.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been a crucial treatment for elder patients with aortic stenosis in developed countries, which is still at its beginning in China. TAVR is a risky and complicated technic; and to promise the long-term development of it, we need to build a multiple disciplinary heart team consisted of doctors from different specialties and guided by various disciplines, also to guarantee the team operates well. In order to help Chinese doctors understand heart team well, this article describes component parts and requirement for each member of the team, in aspect of cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, echocardiologist, radiologist, anesthesiologist and nursing team; and discuss team operation mechanism through pre-procedural evaluation, procedural cooperation, peri-procedural management and post-procedural follow-up.
This case was an elderly male patient with symptomatic aortic valve calcification and severe aortic valve stenosis. Before the operation, the heart valve team had fully evaluated the patient’s suitability for transcatheter aortic valve replacement and approach. This patient had severe stenosis and plaques in the iliac artery, femoral artery, descending aorta, so the carotid artery approach transcatheter aortic valve replacement was chosen. After the operation, the patient’s symptoms improved significantly. So far, the patient was generally in good condition, without chest tightness, shortness of breath and other symptoms in daily activities. The current clinical application of the transcarotid approach is relatively small, but it is believed that with the publication of more clinical research results, the application of the transcarotid approach in transcatheter aortic valve replacement will become more and more common.
Aortic stenosis accounts for a large proportion of valvular heart disease in China. This article described an unusual case of severe aortic stenosis with severe cardiopulmonary decompensation treated by emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Preoperative assessment was performed by transesophageal echocardiography. The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation team was informed to be ready. During the operation, no obvious perivalve leakage was observed after valve released. The transvalvular pressure gradient decreased to 7 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa).The patient’s symptoms were completely relieved after the operation, and no adverse events occurred during the hospitalization. After discharge, color Doppler echocardiography showed that stenosis was eliminated, cardiac function was improved, no significant perivalvular leakage was observed, and pulmonary hypertension reduced to moderate. The success of this operation confirmed the efficacy of emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and showed that after a rigorous evaluation, emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement may be a reasonable choice for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.
This case was a 78-year-old woman characterized exertional dyspnea and diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Preoperative evaluation revealed that the patient had a very high surgical risk, so transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was proposed. But this patient was at high risk of coronary obstruction. After weighing advantages and disadvantages, the heart team decided to choose TAVR under the protection of guide wire and balloon at last. Left coronary ostia obstruction happened after self-expanding valve released during TAVR. Then, emergency “chimney” stent implantation was performed. Finally, TAVR and coronary revascularization was successfully completed. The patient’s condition was improved after TAVR and being good in follow-up. Based on this case, risk factors of coronary obstruction during TAVR and effectiveness and safety of “chimney” stent technique was discussed.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is an effective treatment for aortic stenosis currently, especially in elderly, surgical high-risk, and surgical procedures-intolerant patients with severe aortic stenosis. After several generations of updates in design and function, the self-expandable valves have shown significant efficacy in treating aortic stenosis patients with bicuspid aortic valve, bioprosthetic valve failure or small annulus, and superiority in terms of valve durability, and the favorable hemodynamic outcomes could translate into clinical endpoint benefit. This literature review summarizes the advantages and recent advances of the self-expandable valves in transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Conventional transcatheter aortic valve replacement is normally recommended with transthoracic echocardiography, and contrast agent mediated fluoroscopy under anesthesia to guide a better implantation of the transcatheter valve. However, iodine-containing contrast agent possibly damages the patient’s kidney, and even induces the acute kidney injury. We reported a 75-year-old patient diagnosed with severe aortic valve stenosis, moderate regurgitation, and chronic renal failure. We performed the aortic valve replacement under the guidance of fluoroscopy and transesophageal ultrasound without contrast agent. Seven days after surgery, the patient recovered well and discharged with alleviated aortic stenosis and fixed transcatheter aortic valve.
Objective To evaluate the early clinical outcomes of the Renatus® balloon-expandable valve in the treatment of severe aortic stenosis. MethodsFrom November 2021 to April 2022, a total of 38 patients who received Renatus® balloon-expandable valve for severe aortic stenosis in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were included. There were 22 males and 16 females, with an average age of 73.7±5.3 years. Mean aortic gradient and peak aortic jet velocity at baseline, post-procedure, and follow-up were compared. Clinical outcomes including all-cause mortality, perivalvular leakage, serious adverse cardiovascular events and the occurrence of permanent pacemaker implantation were assessed. ResultsAll patients completed the procedure successfully without conversion to thoracotomy or perioperative death. The post-implant mean aortic pressure gradient was decreased from 41.5 (27.8, 58.8) mm Hg to 6.0 (3.0, 8.0) mm Hg, and the peak aortic jet velocity was also decreased from 4.1±0.9 m/s to 1.7±0.4 m/s (P<0.001). Pacemakers were required in 2 (5.3%) patients. The median follow-up time was 27.5 (23.0, 87.5) d, with a follow-up rate of 100.0%. The mean aortic gradient was 8.0 (7.0, 10.8) mm Hg and peak aortic jet velocity was 2.0±0.3 m/s, showing significant improvement compared with those in the preoperative period (P<0.001). No severe aortic regurgitation or paravalvular leak was observed. There was no serious cardiovascular adverse event or reoperative event during the study period. ConclusionTranscatheter aortic valve replacement with the domestic Renatus® balloon-expandable valve system is a safe and effective procedure for selected patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk or not candidates for surgical aortic valve replacement.