Transcatheter closure of paravalvular leaks: state of the art.
Paravalvular leak (PVL) is a serious complication after surgical valve replacement or after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Approximately 1-5% of PVLs can lead to serious clinical consequences, including congestive heart failure and/or haemolytic anaemia. For years, surgical re-intervention has been considered the treatment of choice for symptomatic patients with PVLs. However, surgical re-intervention is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter PVL (TPVL) closure is a less invasive alternative to surgical re-intervention. The safety and feasibility of TPVL closure has been confirmed in several registries and a meta-analysis.In this review, we discuss the clinical implications and diagnosis of PVLs, technical considerations for TPVL, execution of the procedure and assessment of the results.
['Cruz-Gonzalez|I|I|', 'Rama-Merchan|J C|JC|', 'Rodríguez-Collado|J|J|', 'Martín-Moreiras|J|J|', 'Diego-Nieto|A|A|', 'Barreiro-Pérez|M|M|', 'Sánchez|P L|PL|']
Paravalvular leak Heart failure Haemolytic anaemia Amplatzer Vascular Plug Prosthetic heart valve