Successful Treatment of Severe Paravalvular Leak by Repositioning a Self-Expandable Percutaneous Aortic Valve Bioprosthesis (Evolut PRO+) Using the “Double Snare” Technique

Abstract

Significant (moderate or severe) paravalvular leak (PVL) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) remains a common phenomenon and has been associated with decrease survival and quality of life. Transcatheter valve embolization and migration (TVEM) is a rare post-TAVR complication that can occur in 1% of cases and has been associated with worse patient outcomes. Valve embolization or migration into the left ventricle can result in significant PVL causing hemodynamic instability, shock, heart failure, and hemolytic anemia. Although this complication most commonly occurs in the acute setting (90%) within 4 hours of TAVR, it can also present late (4 hr-43 days later) in 10% of cases. There are no clear guidelines as to how this condition should be managed; however, several percutaneous bailout techniques exist that can ultimately spare the patient from emergent cardiovascular surgery. We present a rare case of late ventricular transcatheter aortic valve migration 3 days after TAVR causing severe PVL and heart failure symptoms that was successfully treated using the percutaneous “double snare” technique.