Aortic regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may be valvular due to prosthetic leaflet dysfunction or paravalvular due to poor annular sealing.
Patients undergoing aortic balloon-expandable TAVR at 3 centers were prospectively evaluated at baseline, intraprocedurally, at hospital discharge, and annually.
Of 760 patients undergoing TAVR, 21 (2.8%) received a THV-in-THV implant due to acute, severe regurgitation. Aortic regurgitation was paravalvular in 18 patients and transvalvular in the remaining 3 patients. THV-in-THV implantation was technically successful in 19 patients (90%) and unsuccessful in 2 patients (10%), who subsequently underwent open heart surgery. Mortality at 30 days and 1 year was 14.3%and 24%, respectively. After successful THV-in-THV, mean aortic valve gradient fell from 37 卤 12 mm Hg to 13 卤 5 mm Hg (p < 0.01); aortic valve area increased from 0.64 卤 0.14 cm2 to 1.55 卤 0.27 cm2 (p < 0.01); and paravalvular aortic regurgitation was none in 4 patients, mild in 13 patients, and moderate in 2 patients. At 1-year follow-up, 1 patient had moderate and the others had mild or no paravalvular leaks. The mean transvalvular gradient was 15 卤 4 mm Hg, which was higher than in patients undergoing conventional TAVR (11 卤 4 mm Hg, p = 0.02).
THV-in-THV implantation is feasible and results in satisfactory short- and mid-term outcomes.