Evaluation of procedural and clinical outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation: A single-center experience

OBJECTIVE: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an established alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement. Our study aimed to evaluate the implementation of TAVI at our large-volume center, having an all-comer patient population with short and long-term follow-ups. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center analysis included 556 consecutive patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent TAVI between July 2011 and December 2019. RESULTS: The mean age of the entire population was 77.6±7.9 years, and 54.9% were women. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) mean score of the cohort was 6.0%±3.5%. The balloon-expandable valve (Sapien XT, Sapien 3; Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California) was the most frequently used valves in this cohort (94.6%). Transfemoral access was used in 96.3% of patients. Implantation success was achieved in 96.6% of cases. During the TAVI procedure, 7.2% of patients required permanent pacemaker implantation, with 37.5% in the Lotus valve group needing the most permanent pacemakers. The mean length of hospital stay for the entire cohort was 4.5±2.3 days. Overall, 22 (3.9%) in-hospital deaths occurred before hospital discharge. The mean follow-up period was 15.1±14.9 months for all patients, and a significant improvement was noted in all echocardiographic parameters and functional capacity. Paravalvular leak (PVL) was documented in 18.9% patients, mild in 17.9%, and moderate in 1% at discharge. No cases with severe PVL, necessitating additional procedures. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that sex, STS score, baseline SYNTAX score, bicuspid valve morphology, common femoral artery diameter, and post-TAVI PVL were independent predictors of overall mortality. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study, which is the largest single-center real-world experience of TAVI in Turkey, demonstrated low complication rates with favorable short- and mid-term THV performance in patients undergoing TAVI.