Objective To analyze the midterm outcome of patients with congenital aortic stenosis undergoing percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty (PBAV) by single echocardiographic guidance. Methods The clinical data of 12 patients with congenital aortic stenosis who underwent PBAV by single echocardiographic guidance at Fuwai Hospital from January 2016 to November 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 7 males and 5 females with an average age of 18.27±15.30 years. The preoperative peak pressure gradient was 61.8–110.0 (80.30±24.50) mm Hg, and 50% of patients had aortic regurgitation. Results All patients successfully underwent PBAV. Aortic annulus diameter was 18.65±3.17 mm and balloon diameter was 17.62±3.77 mm, with balloon diameter to annulus diameter ratio of 0.92±0.07. The peak transaortic gradient was 16-51 (36.72±12.33) mm Hg immediately after procedure, which was significantly different from the preoperation (P=0.000). During the follow-up period, the peak transaortic gradient was 21-58 (37.06±13.52) mm Hg, and there was no significant difference between the follow-up and immediate postoperation (P=0.310). Immediately after procedure and during follow-up, 58% of patients had aortic regurgitation, which was not statistically different from the preoperation (P=0.682). Conclusion Systematic use of Doppler echocardiographic guidance for PBAV is feasible, and that it is associated with a high success rate and a very low complication rate.
This review provides an overview of prenatal interventional treatments for fetal congenital heart disease (CHD), with a particular focus on the latest advancements in fetal aortic valvuloplasty (FAV) and fetal pulmonary valvuloplasty (FPV). FAV aims to improve left heart hemodynamics, prevent hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), and promote biventricular circulation. FPV seeks to improve the natural history of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS) and critical pulmonary stenosis with intact ventricular septum (CPS/IVS), alleviate right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and promote biventricular circulation. This article discusses patient selection, technical details, risk assessment, and clinical outcomes for these procedures, highlighting the challenges in current research, including the lack of standardized patient selection criteria and long-term prognostic studies. Additionally, it emphasizes the opportunities and challenges of fetal cardiac intervention (FCI) development in China and proposes recommendations for future improvements and research directions.
Objective To analyze the early prognosis of repairing adult aortic insufficiency with the Florida sleeve procedure. Methods The patients with aortic insufficiency who underwent Florida sleeve repair in the Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University between August 2020 and May 2024 were selected. Their general data, perioperative conditions, and echocardiographic data before, during, and after the procedure and at follow-up were analyzed. Results Fifteen patients were included, consisting of 12 males and 3 females, aged 33-71 (53.5±12.4) years. Preoperative echocardiography indicated that there was 1 patient of rheumatic disease, 7 patients of degenerative disease, 4 patients secondary to aortic aneurysm, and 3 patients of bicuspid aortic valve. The severity distribution included 2 patients of severe insufficiency, 4 patients of moderate-to-severe insufficiency, 5 patients of moderate insufficiency, and 4 patients of mild-to-moderate insufficiency. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was (135.0±40.0) minutes, the aortic cross-clamp time was (109.9±38.6) minutes, and the median ICU stay was 1.0 day. No mortality was recorded within 30 days postoperatively. Follow-up echocardiography showed that the valve regurgitation, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, and sinus diameter all achieved the desired outcomes. Conclusion Florida sleeve repair for aortic valve in patients with a sinus diameter less than 50 mm not only effectively improves hemodynamics in adults with aortic insufficiency, but also has the advantages of low surgical risk and rapid postoperative recovery, making it a promising procedure for clinical application.