Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in sheep : 1-month evaluation of a novel polymeric prosthetic heart valve / 中华胸心血管外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate valvular functionality after transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in sheep using a novel polymeric prosthetic pulmonary valve.Methods In this study,we designed a novel polymeric trileaflet transcatheter pulmonary valve with a balloon-expandable stent,and the valve leaflet was made of 0.1 mm expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE).We chose bovine pericardium valve as control.Pulmonary valve stents were implanted in situ by right ventricular apical approach in 8 healthy sheep(6 for polymeric valve and 2 for bovine pericardium valve) weighing an average of(22.8 ± 2.2) kg.Angiography was performed after implantation to assess immediate valvular function.Color Doppler echocardiography and 64-row computed tomography were used to assess valvular function 4 weeks after implantation.Results Implantation was successful in 8 sheep.Angiography at implantation showed one polymeric valve was located below the ideal position and most of the stent was in the outflow tract of right ventricle.While,all the other prosthetic valves demonstrated orthotopic position and exhibited normal open and close functionality.Echocardiography 4 weeks after implantation showed all the prosthetic valves exhibited normal functionality and no significant insufficiency.The peak-peak transvalvular pressure gradient of the polymeric valves was (18.8 ± 6.0) mmHg,while that of two bovine pericardium valves were 9 mmHg and 20 mmHg.CT 4 weeks after implantation demonstrated orthotopic position of the stents except the above-mentioned one and all the stents had no deformation.Conclusion The success rate of transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement by right ventricular apical approach is satisfactory.The early valvular functionality of the novel ePTFE pulmonary valve after transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in sheep is good.