Our experience with percutaneous aortic valve implantation (TAVI)

Abstract

Introduction: Although surgical aortic valve replacement is a gold standard for the treatment of severe aortic valve stenosis, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an established method in high surgical risk patients with clearly proved effectiveness and safety. Our first experience with this method is described. Methods: During 2010, the aortic valve implantation using CoreValve Revalving 18F system was performed in 6 patients; the selection of the patients and the course of the procedure are described. Among 39 examined patients the mean age was 82 years, mean value of logistic EuroSCORE 29.9%, indexed aortic valve area 0.33 cm2/m2 and left ventricle ejection fraction 48%. The right position of the valve was achieved in all patients, severe complications occurred in 2 of them, 1 patient died. Dyspnea status, as assessed by the NYHA classification, was improved from 3.0 to 1.8, the mean aortic gradient dropped from 51.6 to 6.6 mmHg in an average. Conclusion: Our experience in the small cohort of patients with implanted aortic valve confirms effectiveness of this method as well as necessity of very careful patient selection for an achievement of its highest safety.