Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become an increasingly important therapy option for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not suitable for traditional aortic valve surgery. Transfemoral access remains the most utilized and preferred route for TAVR. Several alternative routes exist, including transapical, direct aortic, axillary-subclavian, transcarotid, and transcaval accesses. Many factors will be taken into account when operators determine the best vascular access, such as diameters of the access and sheater, valve size, calcification, and tortuosity. Vascular complications are the most common complications of TAVR, which are closely related to the adverse outcome and prognosis, and their occurrences are related to many factors, including the surgeon’s experience, the patient-associated factors, and the device-associated factors. The risk of vascular complications can be reduced through the choice of valve type and vascular approach, detailed preoperative imaging evaluation, and improvement of the patient’s baseline disease. It is suitable to determine whether conservative treatment or reintervention will be chosen according to the severity of the complications.
Mitral regurgitation has high morbidity and mortality. The application of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair (TEER) has provided more options for the management of primary and secondary mitral regurgitation. With the accumulation of operator experience, the improvement of equipment, and the optimization of intraoperative imaging, TEER can be applied to more complex or critically ill patients. The incidence of TEER-related adverse events is low, but some complications that may occur are potentially dangerous. TEER-related complications and their treatment methods are the guarantee of safe and effective operation. This article discusses the main possible complications of TEER and the corresponding management strategies.
An 84-year-old severe aortic stenosis patient admitted with acute heart failure was reported. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was proposed. The patient was at high risk of the left coronary artery occlusion in preoperative and intraoperative evaluation. Coronary artery protection was performed by pre-embedded coronary artery guide wire and stent during the TAVR. The left coronary artery was partially blocked by valve leaflet after 23 mm self-expanding aortic valve was released. Coronary revascularization was not performed as the coronary blood flow was not affected. However, the patient suffered acute myocardial infarction with hypotension on the third day after TAVR. Emergency angiography showed that left coronary artery was more blocked than before and the condition improved after left main coronary stent implantation. This case suggested that aggressive coronary revascularization should be considered for high risk of coronary artery obstruction during TAVR, especially for partial obstruction of coronary artery.
This article presented the clinical diagnosis and management of a patient with severe aortic regurgitation and moderate aortic stenosis who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement complicated with coronary obstruction and retroperitoneal hematoma. The hemodynamics collapsed during the procedure, and transcatheter aortic valve replacement was performed under support of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and coronary protection. After a negative coronary angiography, the wire was extracted, but a repeated angiography showed left coronary obstruction, so a coronary stent was implanted to the ostium of left coronary artery through the grid of the valve stent. Abdominal CT showed a giant retroperitoneal hematoma 2 weeks after transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and the emergent angiography indicated contrast leakage from left external iliac artery, so a balloon compression was performed followed by a covered stent implantation. This article also provided the clinical characteristics, risk factors and management of coronary obstruction and vascular complication for clinical reference.
Patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) are characterized by asymmetric anatomy, severe calcification and combined aortic dilatation. Compared with tricuspid aortic valve stenosis patients, patients with BAV stenosis confront with greater surgical risks in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), including paravalvular leak, aortic valve rupture, coronary artery obstruction, atrioventricular block and so on. However, with the advent of new generation of prosthetic valves and optimization of surgical strategies, several studies have shown that TAVR is safe and effective in the treatment of BAV stenosis. Therefore, we aim to provide an overview of the use of TAVR in patients with BAV stenosis.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has seen a surge in clinical research, basic research, and innovative device development both domestically and internationally in the previous 2023. This article aims to review the progress of TAVR in the past year from the perspectives of international, and domestic research development of application. It highlights new clinical and basic research findings both domestically and internationally, the emergence of new devices and technologies, and the development and use of TAVR in China. Finally, it provides an outlook on the trajectory of TAVR development in 2024.
Objective To investigate the method of single umbilical port laparoscopic cholecystectomy and its feasibility. Methods The clinical data of 46 patients receiving single port umbilical laparoscopic cholecystectomy in this hospital from December 2008 to February 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Results Fourty-six cases were operated successfully with ordinary laparoscopic instruments by single umbilical port laparoscopic cholecystectomy, all without drainage placed. Operative time was from 40 to 130 min, average 52.3 min; bleeding was from 10 to 150 ml, average 40.6 ml. No complications, such as biliary leakage, hemorrhage, umbilical hernia and infection of incisional wound happened. Postoperative abdominal wall scar was not obvious, 1-4 d hospitalization, from 2 weeks to 3 months following-up without disconnecting of incision. Conclusions The single umbilical port laparoscopic cholecystectomy is safe and feasible, with little abdominal wall scar, but difficult to perform, so it can be applied in hospitals with related conditions as improvements of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Objective To explore the clinical effects of emergency transcatheter aortic replacement (TAVR) on the treatment of patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis during hospitalization. Methods The study selected 44 patients from 8 heart valve centers from January 2018 to January 2021. All patients received emergency TAVR treatment. The patients’ baseline clinical data, cardiac ultrasound indicators, and postoperative hospital stay were collected. Paired t-test and McNemar test were used to compare and analyze the preoperative and postoperative cardiac ultrasound indexes, moderate to severe aortic stenosis, and cardiac function. Results The average age of the patients was (72.0±7.9) years. Valve displacement occurred in one patient during the operation, and the surgical success rate was 97.7%. Four cases died during hospitalization, and the mortality rate was 9.1%. The median length of hospital stay was 11.5 d. The postoperative aortic valve area was significantly higher than that before surgery [(0.5±0.2) vs. (3.8±1.6) mm2, P<0.05], the mean transvalvular pressure of the aortic valve was significantly lower than that before operation [(64.0±24.9) vs. (11.3±4.6) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), P<0.05], the peak aortic flow velocity was significantly lower than that before operation [(4.5±0.7) vs. (1.9±0.7) m/s, P<0.05], the left ventricular end diastolic inner diameter was lower than that before operation [(59.0±7.2) vs. (56.1±7.3) mm, P<0.05], the left ventricular ejection fraction increased significantly compared with that before operation [(30.1±10.4)% vs. (40.9±11.0)%, P<0.05], and the cardiac function improved significantly compared with that before operation (P<0.05). During the operation, 2 cases (4.5%) underwent valve-in-valve implantation, 11 cases (25.0%) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention during the same period. During the postoperative hospital stay, 1 case (2.3%) developed stroke, 3 cases (6.8%) experienced severe bleeding, 5 cases (11.4%) had severe vascular complications, 2 cases (4.5%) experienced acute myocardial infarction, 30 cases (68.2%) had small or trace paravalvular regurgitation, 3 cases (6.8%) received permanent pacemaker implantation, and 5 cases (11.4%) developed acute kidney injury. Conclustion Emergency TAVR is an effective and feasible treatment plan for patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis.