REVIEW  DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO AORTIC VALVE TREATMENT: SUTURELESS-AVR VERSUS TAVI 

Minerva Cardioangiologica 2018 April;66(2):191-7

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4725.17.04558-3

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Aortic valve surgery of the 21st century: sutureless AVR versus TAVI

Victor S. COSTACHE ¹, Horatiu MOLDOVAN ² ✉, Catalina ARSENESCU ³, Andreea COSTACHE ¹

¹ Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania; ² Department of Cardiac Surgery, Sanador Hospital, Bucharest, Romania; ³ University of Medicine “Gr.T. Popa”, Iasi, Romania

Surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR) has been a safe, effective and time-proven technique and is still the standard of care all over the world for aortic valve treatment. The vast majority of centers perform this procedure by doing a median sternotomy with several disadvantages. While many others specialties went minimally invasive decades ago, in cardiovascular field transcatheter valve implantation was the first minimally invasive valvular procedure that gained rapid worldwide acceptance. Transcatheter valve replacement (TAVR) is now marketed as a procedure that should be performed under local anesthesia, by an interventional cardiologist via trans femoral route with no other healthcare professional invited to the patient selection or case planning. An increasing number of surgeons are promoting minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, which is gaining grounds, especially with the help of the new sutureless valve technology. With these two new technologies emerging, legitimate questions arise and need to be answered - which has the longest durability, lower complication rate and lower overall mortality.

KEY WORDS: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement - Minimally invasive surgical procedures - Cardiovascular surgical procedures