A Hybrid Strategy for Geometrical Reshaping of the Main Pulmonary Artery and Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement.

Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement has become an attractive alternative to surgical approach in patients with dysfunctional right ventricular outflow tract. However, in certain cases, an unfavorable anatomy might complicate optimal valve deployment and stability. Several techniques have been described to reshape the landing zone and allow proper implantation of the transcatheter valve. Among them, the hybrid approach has gained attention as an interesting method for off-pump pulmonary valve replacement in patients with dilated right ventricular outflow tract. But to date, there is no standardized method to resize and reshape the landing zone for the stented valve. Here, we describe a reproducible method based on simple geometric rules to allow adequate remodeling of the main pulmonary artery to the desired dimensions in a single attempt, followed by perventricular implantation of a Venus P-valve.

Multicenter nit-occlud® PDA-R patent. Ductus arteriosus occlusion device trial: initial and six-month results.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter closure of a moderate to large patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) using conventional techniques is challenging. The Nit-Occlud® PDA-R trial can close a PDA up to 8 mm in diameter. We sought to report procedural and six-month efficacy and safety results of the multicenter Nit-Occlud® PDA-R trial. METHODS: From June 2010 to February 2011, 43 patients were enrolled in three centers from Argentina. Median age was 4.5 (range 1.4-18.4 years) years old at catheterization, 70% were females and weight was 17.7 (range 10-67 kg). RESULTS: PDAs mean diameter was 2.98 ± 1.03 and ranged from 2 to 6.19 mm. About 11.6% were large (≥4 mm), whereas 32.6% were <2.5 mm. Median pulmonary artery mean pressure was 17 mm Hg (range 9-26 mm Hg). The device was implanted successfully in all patients. By echocardiography, trivial residual shunt was observed in 42% at the end of the procedure, in 28% at 24 hr, in 12.1% at one week, and none at three-months. There was one case of embolization (due to undersizing), that was treated successfully with a larger study device. There were no major short- or long-term complications. CONCLUSIONS: PDAs ranging from 2 to 6 mm can be effectively and safely closed using the Nit-Occlud® PDA-R device, with good procedural and six-month results. The Nit-Occlud® PDA-R emerges as an optimal alternative for closure of small to moderate PDAs.