Silent brain infarct (SBI) is frequently identified after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) when patients are screened with imaging examination. With the indication of TAVR extending to lower-risk and younger patients, attention should be paid to SBI that poses a potential long-term threat to the nervous system. This review expounds the basic information, risk factors, mechanism, possible outcomes, prognosis, and prevention of SBI, to provide a reference for the management of SBI after TAVR in clinical practice.
Objective To evaluate the impact of body mass index （BMI） on short-term outcomes after intersphi-ncteric resection （ISR） for rectal cancer and anal cancer. Methods One hundred and ninety-nine cases of rectal cancer and anal cancer who were treated in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2011 were enrolled retrospectively，and these cases were divided into underweight group （n=23），normal group （n=114），and overweight group （n=62） according to BMI. Postoperative indexes in early rehabilitation and complication of 3 groups were studied and compared. Results On the recovery indexes after ISR in early stage，there were no significant differences on the duration of first flatus，first defecation，first oral intake，first ambulation，and hospital stay among 3 groups （P＞0.05）. On the tube management，there were no significant differences on the duration of pulling out nasogastric tube and urinary catheter （P＞0.05），but duration of pulling out drain was longer in normal group and over-weight group （P＜0.05）. There were no significant differences on the incidence of postoperative complications among the 3 groups （P＞0.05），including anastomotic leakage，anastomotic bleeding，perianal infection，ileus，gastric retention，urinary retention， septicemia，wound infection，and recto-vaginal fistula. Conclusions BMI has little impact on short-term outcomes after ISR. Obesity does not increase the incidence of common complications for patients after ISR and does not influence recovery indexes with proper postoperative managements.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a well-established treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. At present, TAVR has already shown noninferiority and even superiority to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients deemed at high or intermediate risk for SAVR. However, the long-term follow-up results of the randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety between TAVR and SAVR are still lacking in those patients who are at low risk for SAVR. This paper gives an overview and reviews results of the Evolut Low Risk trial and interprets its implications for transcatheter therapy in aortic valve diseases.
According to new clinical evidence, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) updated and published 2021 ESC/EACTS guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease. This new guideline gives recommendation for clinical assessment, internal treatment and intervention for patients with valvular heart disease with/without comorbidities, which is a globally approbatory reference for clinical practice. This article summarized the updated contents of the new guideline in terms of transcatheter therapy for valvular heart disease.
This article described the clinical diagnosis and treatment of a patient with bicuspid aortic stenosis occurring severe mitral regurgitation during transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Before transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the patient’s information about medical history, signs, evaluation of CT and echocardiography were collected. After discussion by the heart team, the trans-femoral aortic valve replacement was performed. After the valve was placed during the procedure, a severe mitral regurgitation occurred. No clear causes were found, and the patient’s hemodynamics was stable. The patient recovered well during follow-up, so surgery and other treatments were not considered. This article discussed the possible mechanism and solutions of mitral regurgitation during transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and owned certain value for similar cases to refer to.
A 78-year-old female patient was admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University because of “amaurosis and polypnea for 4+ years”. The examination results before admission showed that severe stenosis of aortic valve, bicuspid aortic valve malformation, severe horizontal heart with 61.54° aortic angle. The preoperative evaluation of the patient indicated that the Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 17.9%, which was high risk for surgery. After discussion by the heart team, the aortic stenosis was finally relieved by transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The operation was successfully completed by using the method of pulling and releasing the device with the same side basket. One month follow-up showed that the patient’s condition was stable and no complications occurred. This case aims to provide a reference for the treatment of horizontal heart with aortic stenosis. In the future, it is hoped that through continuous clinical practice, such patients will be provided with a safer and more efficient treatment plan.
Reports about the application of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with aortic stenosis, whose valve sizes exceed the maximum recommended annular diameter of the largest artificial valve, is rarely in China. This paper reports an aortic stenosis patient characterized by large aortic annulus diameter with severe calcification and treated by TAVR. A comprehensive and careful operation plan was made before the operation. The anterior and posterior balloon dilatation and coronary artery protection were used during the operation. The patient was followed up for 2 years and was in stable condition.
This case was a 78-year-old woman characterized exertional dyspnea and diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Preoperative evaluation revealed that the patient had a very high surgical risk, so transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was proposed. But this patient was at high risk of coronary obstruction. After weighing advantages and disadvantages, the heart team decided to choose TAVR under the protection of guide wire and balloon at last. Left coronary ostia obstruction happened after self-expanding valve released during TAVR. Then, emergency “chimney” stent implantation was performed. Finally, TAVR and coronary revascularization was successfully completed. The patient’s condition was improved after TAVR and being good in follow-up. Based on this case, risk factors of coronary obstruction during TAVR and effectiveness and safety of “chimney” stent technique was discussed.
This article reports a patient diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. After admission, the cardiac multidisciplinary team performed transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) emergently due to its unstable hemodynamics. The procedure was successful, and the initial cardiogram during the operation after TAVR suggested that the stenosis was greatly improved. But gradually the next day bedside echocardiography suggested that the transvalvular pressure difference increased and the prosthetic valve forward blood flow accelerated. Acute valve thrombosis after TAVR was taken into consideration. Warfarin and heparin were administrated for anticoagulation, after which the pressure difference across the valve and the forward blood flow rate of the artificial valve were evenly improved.
Objective To compare the clinical and hemodynamic results of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with different vascular approaches. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the baseline status, procedure status, procedure-related clinical complications defined by Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 consensus document, and postoperative hemodynamic results of patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVR between April 2012 and January 2019 in West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Results A total of 436 patients were enrolled, including 58 patients undergoing surgical cutdown and 378 patients undergoing percutaneous puncture. The prevalence of tumor in the surgical cutdown group was higher than that in the percutaneous puncture group (8.62% vs. 2.65%, P=0.037), while the other baseline characteristics, including age, male proportion, body mass index, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons scores, were similar between the two groups (P>0.05); the proportion of patients with aortic regurgitation equal to or greater than a moderate degree in the surgical cutdown group was lower than that in the percutaneous puncture group (22.41% vs. 35.98%, P=0.043), and there was no statistically significant difference in other preoperative cardiac ultrasound-related indicators (P>0.05). The procedure success rate was high in both groups (96.55% vs. 98.68%, P=0.236). Immediately after operation, the incidences of new-onset left bundle branch block (43.10% vs. 24.87%, P=0.004), severe bleeding (12.07% vs. 4.23%, P=0.030), and mild bleeding (20.69% vs. 3.44%, P<0.001) were higher in the surgical cutdown group than those in the percutaneous puncture group, and the postoperative hemodynamics indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in maximum blood flow velocity between the two groups [(2.37±0.52) vs. (2.50±1.67) m/s, P=0.274]. At the 1 year follow-up, the cardiac death rate (5.17% vs. 3.17%, P=0.696) and all-causes mortality rate (8.62% vs. 8.47%, P=1.000) between the two groups were not statistically different.Conclusions Compared with percutaneous puncture, surgical cutdown is associated with a higher incidence of bleeding events, while the incidence of other clinical complications such as vascular complications and the postoperative hemodynamic outcomes were similar.