Clinical Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Extremely Large Annulus and SAPIEN 3 Dimensions Based on Post-Procedural Computed Tomography

Background: Patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and an extra-large annulus (ELA) area (>683 mm²) can rarely be treated by transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) because of the size limitation of the transcatheter heart valves. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of TAVR using a 29-mm SAPIEN3 (S3) valve in patients with ELA and S3-dimensions by post-procedural computed tomography (post-CT).

Methods and results: We included 261 patients undergoing TAVR using a 29-mm S3: 30 patients with ELA and 231 with non-ELA were identified. S3-dimensions were evaluated at the S3 inflow and annulus level by post-CT in 129 patients. The ELA group had a greater aortic annulus area measured by pre-procedural CT (737.3±54.7 vs. 578.4±41.9 mm², P<0.0001), higher balloon inflation volume (36 vs. 33 mL, P<0.0001), a larger S3 area at inflow by post-CT (729.6±42.2 vs. 682.2±35.0 mm², P<0.001), and a correlation between the inflation volume and S3 area (r=0.71, P=0.0005). No differences were observed between groups in paravalvular aortic regurgitation (PAR) ≥mild (43.3% vs. 27.6%, P=0.09), PAR ≥moderate (3.3% vs. 1.3%, P=0.39) or 1-year mortality (10.0% vs. 9.1%, P=0.87).

Conclusions: TAVR using a 29-mm S3 with extra inflation of the delivery balloon can be considered as a treatment option for patients with severe AS and ELA.