Emergency bailout surgery saves lives in high-risk patients with complications after TAVR

With the expansion of the indication for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVR), the value of access to on-site emergency heart surgery at performing centers needs to be assessed.

To evaluate postoperative mortality after surgical rescue post-TAVR, in a population at high surgical risk.

Retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients included in the France-TAVI registry who had undergone TAVR with the latest generation valves between January 2017 and February 2020.

Among the 968 patients undergoing TAVR, 6 patients (0.62%) were identified as candidates for surgery: 3 in the peri-operative context and 3 during hospitalization. Four subjects were managed in a salvage situation, two due to tamponade, one due to aortic dissection, and one due to aortic annulus rupture. One patient died of a delayed aortic annulus rupture and one patient presented a right coronary occlusion which was medically treated. All patients who underwent emergency surgery were discharged alive from the hospital.

In TAVR patients initially contraindicated for surgery, emergency bailout surgery could be performed successfully with all patients discharged alive. Access to on-site heart surgery represents a life-saving resource for TAVR centers.