First-in-man transcatheter aortic valve implantation of a 20-mm edwards SAPIEN XT valve: One step forward for the treatment of patients with severe aortic stenosis and small aortic annulus

We present the case of an 85-year-old woman diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis, porcelain aorta, and a small aortic annulus (17.3 mm), who underwent successful transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with a 20-mm Edwards SAPIEN XT valve using the NovaFlex+ delivery system. At 1-month follow-up the patient was in NYHA functional class I, and Doppler echocardiography showed a mean residual gradient of 15 mm Hg and trivial paravalvular aortic regurgitation. This case, which shows for the first time the feasibility of TAVI with a 20-mm valve, opens a new avenue for the challenging treatment of patients with aortic stenosis and a small aortic annulus. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.