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Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Technique and Patient Selection Criteria of Right Anterior Mini-Thoracotomy for Minimal Access Aortic Valve Replacement
Published on: March 26, 2018
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients with preoperative ascending aortic diameter ≥45 mm
Kang An1,2,3,4, Fengwen Zhang1,2,3,4, Wenbin Ouyang1,2,3,4
1Department of Structural Heart Disease, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, China & Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Background:
Current indication for concomitant replacement of ascending aorta (AA) in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement is that AA diameter exceeds 45 mm. However, the impact of AA dilation (≥45 mm) in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains unclear.
Methods:
We retrospectively evaluated 467 consecutive patients who underwent transfemoral TAVR from January 2016 to April 2021. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to identify risk factors for all-cause mortality. The primary endpoint was the all-cause mortality, and the secondary endpoints were the occurrence of the aortic dissection and/or rupture.
Results:
One hundred patients (21.4%) presented preoperative AA ≥45 mm. The median age was 73 years for patients with AA ≥45 mm and 75 years for patients with AA <45 mm (P=0.021). The in-hospital mortality rate was 1.1%. There was no iatrogenic injury to the AA. Only one patient (0.2%) in AA <45 mm group experienced retrograde type B aortic dissection in the descending aorta. The median follow-up was 19 [16-34] months in patients with AA ≥45 mm and 27 [15-37] months in patients with AA <45 mm (P=0.152). No statistical difference was found between the two groups regarding the overall survival (92.5%±3.5% vs. 78.3%±6.8%, P=0.198). Only one patient in AA <45 mm group experienced type A aortic dissection 10 months after the procedure. In both univariable and multivariable analysis, AA ≥45 mm was not an independent predictor for all-cause mortality.
Conclusions:
Transfemoral TAVR can be performed safely in patients with preoperative AA ≥45 mm with a low intraprocedural risk. The mid-term survival appears not to be affected by the presence of AA ≥45 mm, and adverse aortic events are rare.
