Background: Accurate positioning of the valve device during transcutaneous aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is of crucial importance. The Paieon C-THV navigation system has been designed to correctly guide device deployment during TAVI.
Objectives: Using this navigation system we aimed to determine the correlation between the anatomic measures of the native aortic valve and the deployed self-expandable valve positioning and to explore the impact upon procedural outcomes.
Methods: We analyzed data of 68 patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing TAVI, using the catheter-based Medtronic-CoreValve self-expandable system. Patients were subdivided into two groups according to whether the C-THV system was used (50) or not (18) during the implantation process. Analysis of geometrical outcomes vs. clinical outcomes including postprocedural electrical conduction defect and/or para-valvular leaks was performed.
Results: Taking the target implantation line as a reference; relatively lower vs. higher implantations correlated with a higher frequency of any new onset electrical conduction defect (ECD). The mean corresponding distance from valve inferior edge below the virtual aortic annulus line was 3.0 ± 1.6 mm vs. 1.2 ± 1.3 mm in patients with (38.5%) vs. without any new onset ECD, respectively (P = 0.05). The use of C-THV navigation seemed to correlate with higher valve implants but it had no impact on the occurrence of postprocedural paravalvular leaks.
Conclusions: Self-expandable valve implants guided by C-THV navigation seems to be associated with more precise implants and lower risk for postprocedural electrical conduction defects, due to higher location in relation to the target line.
Keywords: TAVI; aortic stenosis; self-expandable valve; transcutaneous aortic valve implantation.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.