Percutaneous reimplantation of a pulmonary valved stent in sheep: A potential treatment for bioprosthetic valve degeneration

ObjectivePercutaneous pulmonary valve replacement has been recently introduced into clinical practice. Patients with transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement will definitely face the problems of valve degeneration. In addition to surgical re-replacement of the degenerated bioprosthetic valves, we studied the replacement of degenerated bioprosthetic valves with transcatheter reimplantation of stent-mounted pulmonary valves.MethodsPercutaneous pulmonary valve replacement was first performed in 6 sheep used a homemade valved stent. Two months after the initial procedure, the 6 sheep previously implanted with a valved stent underwent the same implantation procedure of a pulmonary valved stent. Hemodynamic assessment of the bioprosthetic pulmonary valve was obtained by echocardiography immediately post-implant and at 2 months follow-up.ResultsAll 6 sheep had successful transcatheter stent-mounted pulmonary valve replacement in the first experiment. After 2 months, reimplantation was successful in 5 sheep but failed in 1 sheep because the first valved stent was pushed to the bifurcation of the pulmonary artery by the delivery sheath. Echocardiography confirmed the stents were in the desired position during the follow-up. The remaining 5 sheep with normal valvular and cardiac functionality survived for 3 months after implantation.ConclusionTranscatheter stent-mounted bioprosthetic pulmonary valve reimplantation is feasible in an animal model and more convenient than open chest reimplantation.