Results
We reviewed 25 patients that underwent rapid deployment valve
implantation in the aortic position. For all patients we used the same
valve system, INTUITY Valve System (Edwards Life Sciences LLC, Irvine,
Calif). Overall, 36% of patients had the same size valve as the
measured aortic annulus, 48% of patients had a valve implanted that was
1 mm different, and 16% of patients had 2 mm difference. (Figure 1) The
mean annular size based on intraoperative TEE was 22.4 mm (range: 21-28
mm). The mean valve size that we implanted was 23.3 mm (range: 21-27
mm). (Graphic 1) There was no statistically significant difference
between the mean annular measurement and the valve size selected (0.9 mm
, p = 0.8). Echocardiograms were performed on postoperative visits at
various intervals that were at least 1 month postoperatively. We
identified 5 patients (20%) with trivial paravalvular leak at
>1 month postoperative echocardiogram. There were no
patients with moderate or severe paravalvular leaks. There was one
patient (4%) who required pacemaker implantation.