Background:
Major vascular access site complications remain a challenge in the field of TAVI and are associated with higher 30 day mortality. However, outcomes following endovascular management with covered stents for such complications are not well established.
Methods:
We reviewed the one year data of patients who underwent TAVI at our institution with a Sapien valve by percutaneous femoral approach. Identified were patients who suffered major vascular complications according to the definitions set forth by the Valve Academic Research Consortium. We then compared the outcome of patients managed by an endovascular approach with a population whose femoral access site complications were managed surgically/endovascularly (85.7% surgically), as reported from the Partner trial.
Results:
A total of 16 patients experienced Major Vascular complications. TAVI was aborted on 2 patients due to access site complication. Excluded were 3 patients who had benign small ascending aortic dissections after successful valve deployment and 3 patients who were managed surgically. Ten remaining patients were managed by a pure endovascular approach with covered stents. Four of these patients suffered ilio-femoral dissection, 4 had perforation and 2 had both perforation and dissection. No significant difference was observed in pre and post procedure creatinine (1.01 vs 1.14, p=0.16) and none required dialysis within 30 days, as compared with 8.1% in Partner trial. We observed no statistically significant difference between the Partner trial cohort and our patients in 30 day all cause mortality (14.1% vs 10%, p=1), stroke rate (4.8% vs 0%, p=1), access site hematoma (22.9% vs 0%, p=0.1), retroperitoneal bleed (9.5% vs 0%, p=0.6), pseudoaneurysm (3.4% vs 0%, p=1), and gastrointestinal ischemia (1.6% vs 0%). No access site infection, stent thrombosis, or stenosis leading to limb ischemia were noted clinically at 30 day follow-up.
Conclusion:
Many patients with major vascular complications during TAVI can be treated with a pure endovascular approach. In our small series we observed no difference in concurrent complications when an endovascular repair can be rapidly initiated as compared to a primary surgical approach.
Techniques for the endovascular management of complications following lower limb percutaneous transluminal angioplasty