Successful transapical aortic valve implantation four weeks before 97th birthday

Abstract

Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is currently the treatment of choice in patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis, but transcatheter off-pump aortic valve implantation is a novel and emerging technique, which might be performed more frequently in the near future and may be a less invasive alternative to conventional AVR in selected high-risk patients. Up to date, the preoperative patient selection is debated and potential candidates for these new techniques are widely discussed. We report a successful transapical aortic valve implantation performed in a 96-year-old woman demonstrating the potential of the novel technique as an alternative treatment option in old and multimorbid patients at high risk for conventional AVR. © 2009 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.