Percutaneous Occlusion of Paravalvular Aortic Leaks: A Single-Center Experience Focused on Intracardiac Echocardiography

To describe our initial experience with an intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) for guidance of aortic percutaneous paravalvular leak occlusion (PPVLO) and to assess the outcomes after aortic PPVLO.

PPVLO has emerged as an alternative to cardiac surgery for patients with symptomatic PVLs. ICE is an appealing alternative to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for guidance of percutaneous structural interventions, but experience with ICE for PPVLO guidance is limited.

We performed a retrospective analysis of all aortic PPVLOs performed in our center. The primary endpoints were technical and procedural success. Secondary endpoints included procedure-related complications, mortality, hospital admission due to heart failure, and improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class.

Ten aortic PPVLOs were included. ICE was used to guide 40% of the aortic PPVLOs. Median follow-up was 22 months (interquartile range, 3-33 months). Mortality was 22% and hospital admission due to heart failure was 33%. Technical and procedural success rates were 90% and 80%, respectively. Median NYHA class improved significantly after the procedure (P<.01). Success was achieved in all ICE cases without any procedure-related complications.

In our initial experience with an ICE-guided approach for aortic PPVLO, technical and procedural success were achieved and there were no procedure-related complications.