Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a common theraputic option for aortic stenosis, but the evidence for precise anatomy for TAVR is accumulating. This paper presents the case of an 71-year-old female patient who had an extremely high risk of coronary obstruction due to both coronary ostia lying too low. The patient underwent TAVR with the help of coronary protection successfully. During the procedure, the patient was protected with wires only for both coronaries. After deployment, angiofluoroscopy suggested that chimney stenting should be applied for left coronary. The whole procedure was unenventful and both coronaries were seen.
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.
Abstract： Objective To summarize the methods and results of supra-annular aortic valve replacement（AVR） in patients with severely damaged aortic annulus. Methods Supra-annular AVR was performed in 5 patients between March 2008 and Dec. 2010 in Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University. There were 4 males and 1 female with their mean age of 46.3 years (ranging from 38 to 53 years). Non-specific infectious diseases were diagnosed in 4 patients who had severe paravalvular leakage after their first AVR operations (2 patients with Behcet’s disease and 2 patients with arteritis), and one patient had severe infectious endocarditis. All the patients had severely destroyed aortic annulus and could not undergo routine AVR. The prosthetic valves were fixed to the aortic sinus wall between the annulus and coronary arterial ostia, and the sutures passed through from the outside of aortic wall into the inside and prosthetic valve ring. Coronary artery bypass grafting was performed if the coronary ostium was involved. Results All patients recovered from the operations uneventfully, and were followed up from 6 months to 3 years. All patients were in New York Heart Association（NYHA） functional class Ⅰ or Ⅱ during the follow-up period, and paravalvalar leakage, pseudoaneurysm and aortic root aneurysm were not found by the examination of 3D computed tomographic angiography and echocardiography at 6 months（4 cases）, 1 year（2 cases）, and 3 years（1 case）, respectively . Conclusions Supra-annular AVR is an alternative surgical method for patients with severely damaged aortic annulus. The procedure is simple and effective to prevent paravalvular leakage and pseudoaneurysm formation.
Commissural misalignment of biological valve and autologous valve during transcatheter aortic valve replacement may affect the filling of coronary artery, reduce the feasibility of redo-aortic valve intervention and damage the valve function, which will adversely affect long-term prognosis of patients. Some studies have obtained achievement by changing the axial direction of valve and using individualized computer simulation technology to improve the alignment technology. However, there are still many unknown problems about the impact of commissural misalignment on patients, and accurate commissural alignment techniques still need to be further explored. This article systematically expounds the possible impact of commissural misalignment between biological valve and autologous valve in transcatheter aortic valve replacement, possibly effective accurate commissural alignment techniques and related research progress.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has entered a new and critical stage after nearly 20 years of rapid development in China. There are various types of TAVR valves with different advantages. TAVR can be performed through various approaches such as transfemoral artery, transapical, trans-carotid artery, or trans-ascending aorta. The first two are more common. Echocardiography plays an important role in the perioperative period of TAVR. Compared to transfemoral approach, transapical TAVR has different key points in perioperative echocardiography which is lack of unified and accurate standards. This standard is specially formulated to focus on the key points of echocardiography in preoperative screening, intraoperative monitoring and postoperative follow-up in order to promote the safe and effective application of transapical TAVR in the clinic.
After nearly two decades of application and development, the clinical efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been continuously improved and demonstrated. Due to the expansion of indications of TAVR, the frequency of encountering patients with mixed valvular diseases increases greatly, particularly the moderate to severe mitral regurgitation combined with aortic stenosis. Multiple registry studies suggest that the incidence of significant mitral regurgitation is approximately 13% to 74% in patients who undergo TAVR. Some studies have reported that moderate to severe MR is associated with higher mortality, while simultaneous aortic and mitral valve surgery is associated with significantly higher surgical risk. Therefore, the optimal treatment strategy for this special patient group remains uncertain. With the further development of transcatheter therapy, staged surgery may be a feasible solution. However, there is currently a lack of evidence-based support such as randomized clinical trials. This review aims to report and evaluate relevant existing research data to help clinicians make optimal treatment decisions for this specific patient populations.
Patients with severe aortic stenosis will gradually develop symptoms of heart failure. Aortic valve replacement is an effective treatment at present, while transcatheter aortic valve replacement is suitable for high-risk elderly patients. This article reports a patient with severe aortic valve stenosis and severe scoliosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Detailed preoperative evaluation and avoidance of peripheral vascular injury were the characteristics of this case. The patient was an elderly male with severe scoliosis. After fully evaluating the risks and benefits of surgery, a surgical strategy was formulated. The patient was in the supine position to complete the preoperative CT, and then the long sheath was used to pass through the thoracoabdominal aortic angle during the operation. After angiography-assisted adjustment and determination of the optimal release angle, the valve was accurately released, and the operation went smoothly without serious peripheral vascular damage.
Objective To systematically evaluate the impact of pulmonary hypertension (PH) on the prognosis of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods A computerized search was conducted in CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, and Web of Science databases from inception to June 2023 for cohort studies on the prognostic impact of PH in severe AS patients undergoing TAVR. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of included studies. Stata 17.0 software was used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 16 cohort studies were included, all with Newcastle-Ottawa Scale scores≥7. Meta-analysis results showed that, compared with AS patients without PH, those with PH had significantly higher 1-year all-cause mortality after TAVR [OR=2.10, 95%CI (1.60, 2.75), P<0.01], 30-day all-cause mortality [OR=2.09, 95%CI (1.54, 2.83), P<0.01], and cardiovascular mortality [OR=1.49, 95%CI (1.18, 1.90), P<0.01]. The differences between the two groups in major bleeding events, stroke, myocardial infarction, pacemaker implantation, and postoperative renal failure were not statistically significant. For outcome indicators with significant heterogeneity, subgroup analyses were performed based on PH measurement methods, diagnostic criteria, and different types of PH. The results showed that most subgroup combined results were consistent with the overall findings and that heterogeneity was significantly reduced. Conclusion PH significantly increases the 30-day all-cause mortality, 1-year all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality in patients with severe AS undergoing TAVR.
With the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, it has become the first-line treatment for elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis. A case of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in a patient at high risk of coronary artery occlusion was reported. The use of intravascular ultrasound to observe the spatial relationship between the coronary ostia and the valve was the characteristic of this case. This patient was an elderly male who was assessed as a high risk of acute coronary artery occlusion before transcatheter aortic valve replacement. After fully evaluation of the patient’s surgical risks\benefits, the strategy was formulated. Percutaneous coronary intervention was the first step. At the same time, intravascular ultrasound was used to observe the spatial relationship between the coronary ostia and the valve, and balloon was embedded for coronary protection. The procedure went smoothly.