Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement: State of the art.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients undergoing transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement has been steadily increasing, resulting in many research projects focusing on this patient population. This has highlighted the need to summarize the currently available data.

METHODS: A review of the literature was conducted and the results summarized.

RESULTS: At present, the two commercially available valves approved for transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement include the Edwards Sapien valve and the Medtronic Melody valve. More data has been published relating to the Melody valve; this included the incidence of coronary anatomy prohibiting valve implantation of 5%, an incidence of conduit disruption of 6%, and freedom from stent fracture of the Melody valve stent of 60% at 30 months. Short and medium term outcomes seem to be comparable if not superior to surgical valve replacement, but long-term data is still lacking. There may also be a cost benefit with transcatheter valve implantation when compared to surgical pulmonary valve replacement.

CONCLUSIONS: Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement is here to stay. The main challenge of treating patients with a native right ventricular outflow tract still needs to be addressed and device development efforts centered in this area. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.