Acute limb ischemia after femoro-femoral extracorporeal life support implantation: A comparison of surgical, percutaneous, or combined vascular access in 402 patients.

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a salvage treatment for acute circulatory failure. Our high-volume tertiary centre performs more than 100 implants annually and provides ECLS-transports. With this study, we aimed to analyze the incidence and risk factors of limb ischemia depending on the vascular access. METHODS: Between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2018, 937 patients received an ECLS. Preoperative, intraoperative, in-hospital and up to 5 years follow-up data were collected. Outcome measures were limb ischemia and survival. RESULTS: In total, 402 femoro-femoral veno-arterial ECLS patients were identified. Mean age was 56 ± 16.7 years, 26.9% were female, 7.9% had a history of peripheral vascular disease. Cannulation was performed percutaneously in 82.1% (n = 330), surgically in 5.7% (n = 23) and combined in 12.2% (n = 49). Mortality was not significantly different between the groups (51.1% percutaneous, 43.5% surgical, 44.9% combined [p = 0.89]). There was no significant difference in limb ischemia either, but a trend toward an increased frequency in the percutaneous group (p = 0.0501). No amputation was necessary. Limb ischemia slightly increased in-hospital mortality (54.6%) but did not affect long-term survival beyond 30 days. Univariate analysis adjusted for cannulation methods revealed younger age and female gender as risk factors of limb ischemia and younger age for limb ischemia after percutaneous cannulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that percutaneous, surgical, and combined vascular access techniques for ECLS implantation are associated with comparable and low incidence of limb ischemia which slightly increases in-hospital mortality. Special precaution has to be taken in young and female patients.

Mitral annular calcification: challenges and future perspectives.

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is a chronic degenerative process that implies calcification on the mitral support structure. It usually appears as a bystander to other cardiac pathologies hindering surgical treatment and increasing morbidity and mortality. When addressing the mitral valve, many surgical strategies have been suggested in the past with no clear consensus on what to choose. Moreover, and as transcatheter therapies have gained popularity over the last few decades, transcatheter mitral valve implantation has appeared as another alternative to conventional surgery. In this review, we aim at describing an overview of MAC, highlighting current challenges and treatment options as well as new potential alternatives.

Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Tricuspid Repair for Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation Reduces Hospitalizations for Heart Failure.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of transcatheter edge-to-edge tricuspid valve repair (TTVR) for severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) on hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) and HF-related endpoints. BACKGROUND: Patients with severe TR need effective therapies beyond conservative treatment. The impact of TTVR on HHF and HF-related endpoints is unknown. METHODS: Isolated TTVR was performed in 119 patients. Assessments were conducted of New York Heart Association functional class, 6-min walk distance, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire scores, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level, and medication. HHFs were analyzed in the preceding 12 months before and until the longest available follow-up after TTVR. Results were compared with those of 114 patients who underwent combined mitral and tricuspid valve repair. RESULTS: Procedural success with a reduction to moderate or less TR and no in-hospital death was achieved in 82% of patients. With a median follow-up of 360 days (interquartile range: 187 to 408 days), a durable TR reduction to moderate or less was achieved in 72% of patients (p < 0.001). TTVR reduced the annual rate of HHF by 22% (1.21 to 0.95 HHF/patient-year; p = 0.02), with concomitant clinical improvement in New York Heart Association functional class (patients in class II or lower: 9% to 67%; p < 0.001), 6-min walk distance (+39 m; p = 0.001), and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score (-6 points; p = 0.02). N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level decreased numerically by 783 pg/ml. Diuretic dose before TTVR was increased, but HF medication did not change after TTVR. Procedural success was associated with improved 1-year survival (79% vs. 60%; p = 0.04) and event-free-survival (death + first HHF: 67% vs. 40%; p = 0.001). Transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve repair-treated patients had comparable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: TTVR for severe TR is associated with a reduction of HHF and improved clinical outcomes.

Developments in transcatheter tricuspid valve therapies.

Introduction: Transcatheter tricuspid valve (TV) procedures emerged as an alternative to surgery for symptomatic high-risk patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation.Areas covered: A literature search was performed using PubMed. Authors review clinical evidence in this field, the imaging features and the developments in TV transcatheter technologies. Currently, transcatheter devices for TV procedures can be allocated into four main groups: 1) those ones targeting leaflet malcoaptation, 2) those addressing annular dilatation, 3) those performing heterotopic valve implantation and 4) those onesaccomplishing a complete transcatheter replacement of the valve.Expert opinion: Actually, encouraging results are provided by initial experience in the field of transcatheter TV procedures. However, this field remains full of challenges that faced could lead to better results and prognosis for the patients. The next steps in this emerging field will need to focus on accurate patient selection, an early patient referral and on studies comparable and providing long-term data.

Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis Treated with a Portico Transcatheter Aortic Valve System.

The Portico™ transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) was specifically designed to reduce some of the limitations associated with first-generation TAVI devices. Most of the currently available clinical evidence was obtained from randomized studies that compared TAVI to aortic valve replacement using first-generation transcatheter heart valve devices. The aim of this review is to describe the characteristics of the repositionable and retrievable Portico™ system and the technique of implantation, as well as to provide an overview of the most recent outcomes in the literature, along with our institutional experience.

The Portico transcatheter aortic valve for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis.

The Portico TAVI system (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA) has been specifically designed to mitigate some of the complications associated with first-generation valves. Most of the data generated from randomized studies comparing transcatheter aortic valve implantation with surgery stem from reported experiences with first generation transcatheter heart valve devices. The aim of this review is to describe the repositionable and retrievable Portico system and its implantation technique, coupled with our single-center experience and to provide a review of the clinical results reported so far in the literature.

Transcatheter mitral valve chord repair.

The field of mitral valve disease diagnosis and management is rapidly evolving. New understanding of pathophysiology and improvements in the adoption of sophisticated multimodality imaging modalities have led to early diagnosis and to more complex treatment. The most common cause of mitral regurgitation (MR) in the western world is in the primary alteration of the valve, which leads to degenerative leaflet prolapse due to chordal elongation or rupture and annular dilatation. Untreated, significant MR has a negative impact prognosis, leading to reduction of survival. In the setting of degenerative MR, surgical repair currently represents the standard of care. Treatment of asymptomatic patients with severe MR in the Valve Center of Excellence, in which successful repair reaches more than 95% and surgical mortality less than 1%, symbolizes the direction for the next years. Transcatheter mitral valve repair with different devices, more recently the chordal replacement ones, is providing good outcomes and became a therapeutic option in high-risk patients with degenerative MR. In the future, more advances are expected from further development of interventional techniques, careful evaluation and better patient selection. This review will focus on long-term surgical outcomes of mitral valve repair with artificial chordae and on the emerging transcatheter chordal repair devices as therapeutic options for degenerative MR patients.