title: Preferential short cut or alternative route: the transaxillary access for transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
abstract: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has gained widespread acceptance as a treatment option for patients at high risk for conventional aortic valve replacement. The most commonly used access site for TAVI is the common femoral artery. Yet, in a significant number of patients the transfemoral access is not suitable due to peripheral vascular disease of the lower extremity. In these cases the transaxillary approach can serve as an alternative implantation route. By considering the anatomical requirements and providing an adequate endovascular "safety-net" during the procedure the transaxillary TAVI approach results in excellent procedural and clinical outcome. However, whether the transaxillary access for TAVI is superior to other non-transfemoral approaches (e.g., transapical or direct aortic) needs to be studied in the future in a prospective randomized trial.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schofer
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deuschl
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Lenard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Conradi
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lubos
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schirmer
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reichenspurner
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blankenberg
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Hendrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Treede
authors.affiliation: 1 Department for General and Interventional Cardiology, 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schäfer
keywords: Aortic stenosis; axillary artery; transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)