title: Transcatheter closure of paravalvular leaks: state of the art.
abstract: Paravalvular leak (PVL) is a serious complication after surgical valve replacement or after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Approximately 1-5% of PVLs can lead to serious clinical consequences, including congestive heart failure and/or haemolytic anaemia. For years, surgical re-intervention has been considered the treatment of choice for symptomatic patients with PVLs. However, surgical re-intervention is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter PVL (TPVL) closure is a less invasive alternative to surgical re-intervention. The safety and feasibility of TPVL closure has been confirmed in several registries and a meta-analysis.In this review, we discuss the clinical implications and diagnosis of PVLs, technical considerations for TPVL, execution of the procedure and assessment of the results.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cruz-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain. ramamerchan@hotmail.com.|Cardiology Department, Hospital of Merida, Badajoz, Spain. ramamerchan@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rama-Merchan
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Collado
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martín-Moreiras
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diego-Nieto
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barreiro-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Department, University Hospital of Salamanca, IBSAL, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Sánchez
keywords: Amplatzer Vascular Plug; Haemolytic anaemia; Heart failure; Paravalvular leak; Prosthetic heart valve