The Effect of Valve-in-Valve Implantation Height on Sinus Flow

Valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement (VIV-TAVR) has proven to be a successful treatment for high risk patients with failing aortic surgical bioprostheses. However, thrombus formation on the leaflets of the valve has emerged as a major issue in such procedures, posing a risk of restenosis, thromboembolism, and reduced durability. In this work we attempted to understand the effect of deployment position of the transcatheter heart valve (THV) on the spatio-temporal flow field within the sinus in VIV-TAVR. Experiments were performed in an in vitro pulsatile left heart simulator using high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to measure the flow field in the sinus region. The time-resolved velocity data was used to understand the qualitative and quantitative flow patterns. In addition, a particle tracking technique was used to evaluate relative thrombosis risk via sinus washout. The velocity data demonstrate that implantation position directly affects sinus flow patterns, leading to increased flow stagnation with increasing deployment height. The particle tracking simulations showed that implantation position directly affected washout time, with the highest implantation resulting in the least washout. These results clearly demonstrate the flow pattern and flow stagnation in the sinus is sensitive to THV position. It is, therefore, important for the interventional cardiologist and cardiac surgeon to consider how deployment position could impact flow stagnation during VIV-TAVR.