Pulmonary valve-in-valve implants: how long do they prolong reintervention and what causes them to fail?

✍ Scribed by Kelsey B. Law; Katharine R.B. Phillips; Jagdish Butany

• Book ID: 119215019
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 378 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1054-8807
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carpath.2012.02.010

✦ Synopsis

Background:

The valve-in-valve (vinv) procedure is a minimally invasive, transcatheter, off-pump, alternative to conventional valve replacement, which uses a failing bioprosthesis to anchor a second transcatheter-delivered prosthesis. this technique appears effective for prolonging freedom from reintervention and treating early device failure. however, it is unknown as to how long reintervention can be avoided.

Methods:

We present the pathological findings of a vinv explanted after 47 months, as well as the failure modes of these devices.

Results:

The vinv approach in our case ultimately failed, likely due to the proximity of the host's tissues to the prosthetic device, resulting in a combination of pannus, calcification, and a cusp tear.

Conclusions:

Additional long-term follow-up of pulmonary vinv implantations is needed in order to determine the life span of vinvs and what causes them to fail.