title: Urgent reoperative transapical valve-in-valve shortly after a transapical aortic valve implantation.
abstract: Urgent reoperative transapical aortic valve-in-valve has never been proposed as a treatment option in case of a failed transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or in case of worsening of an existing paravalvular leak, if this complication occurs right after, or a few days after, the primary transapical aortic valve implantation. Experienced surgeons should argue that after a transapical TAVI, the apex is damaged and fragile, with a high risk of irreparable ventricular tears and life-threatening bleeding if a second transapical procedure is scheduled during the acute phase. Nevertheless, if the patient is inoperable and the vascular status, including the ascending aorta, limits alternative accesses, the urgent reoperative transapical valve-in-valve becomes an alternative. We illustrate, for the first time ever, our experience with an 81-year old female patient who underwent a transapical (TA) TAVI with a Sapien XT 23 mm. The day after the procedure, the patient haemodynamically worsened in combination with a worsening of a known (grade 1-2) paravalvular leak. Thus, on postoperative day two, an urgent transapical valve-in-valve was performed, and a second Sapien XT 23 mm was placed, with an excellent haemodynamic result and absence of leak. The redo apical access did not appear very complicated and the postoperative recovery was uneventful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland enricoferrari@bluewin.ch.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Locca
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Anesthesia, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marcucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jeanrenaud
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012086:Reoperation; D065467:Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Aortic valve regurgitation; Redo cardiac surgery; Transcatheter aortic valve implantation