Covered Stent Correction for Sinus Venosus Atrial Septal Defects, an Emerging Alternative to Surgical Repair: Results of an International Registry.

Background: Covered stent correction for a sinus venosus atrial septal defect (SVASD) was first performed in 2009. This innovative approach was initially viewed as experimental and was reserved for highly selected patients with unusual anatomic variants. In 2016, increasing numbers of procedures began to be performed, and in several centers, it is now offered as a standard of care option alongside surgical repair.

Rationale and Design of the Multicenter Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia Before Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot Study.

Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot are at elevated risk for ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Over the past decade, the pathogenesis and natural history of ventricular tachycardia has become increasingly understood, and catheter ablation has emerged as an effective treatment modality. Concurrently, there has been great progress in the development of a versatile array of transcatheter valves that can be placed in the native right ventricular outflow tract for the treatment of long-standing pulmonary regurgitation.

Successful radiofrequency perforation and balloon decompression of cor triatriatum sinister using novel technique, a case series.

Cor triatriatum sinister (CTS) is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly representing <0.1% of all congenital cardiac malformations. It is characterized by the presence of a left atrial (LA) membrane that leads to left ventricular inflow obstruction.

Mechanical properties of low-diameter balloon expandable covered stents.

Objectives: To determine over-dilation potential of commercially available covered stents.

Background: Covered stents including the Atrium iCast, Gore VBX, and Lifestream stents (LS) can treat ruptures, dissections, and aneurysms in small vessels. Especially in growing patients, stents often require serial dilations beyond their implant or nominal diameters.

Pediatric stroke associated with a sedentary lifestyle during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic: a case report on a 17-year-old.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic-associated quarantine has led to a more sedentary lifestyle in teenagers. This may increase the risk for venous thromboembolism and a subsequent source of an ischemic stroke through a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Here, we report a pediatric stroke case likely due to these factors.

Combined Transcatheter Tricuspid and Pulmonary Valve Replacement.

Background: For patients with combined tricuspid and pulmonary valve disease, operative intervention carries high mortality risk. Published reports of combined transcatheter tricuspid and pulmonary valve replacement have been limited to single cases.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed including all patients undergoing combined transcatheter tricuspid and pulmonary valve replacement at the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center.

Utility of the long DrySeal sheath in facilitating transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation with the Edwards Sapien 3 valve.

Objective: To assess the utility of the 65-cm-long Gore DrySeal sheath when compared to the standard 36-cm-long Edwards expandable sheath (e-sheath) for transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation (TPVI) with the Edwards Sapien 3 valve.

Methods: All patients who underwent TPVI with the Sapien 3 valve, excluding those performed via hybrid approach, at our center between September 2015 and November 2019 were retrospectively reviewed and compared between two groups.

Results: A total of 94 patients were enrolled; 29 patients underwent TPVI with the Sapien valve using the DrySeal sheath and 65 underwent TPVI using the e-sheath.

Risk factors for infective endocarditis following transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in patients with congenital heart disease.

Objectives: We sought to delineate the risk factors for infective endocarditis (IE) in patients undergoing transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TCPVR).

Background: Despite the therapeutic benefits of TCPVR for treatment of dysfunctional right ventricular outflow tracts, IE is a major complication of the approach. Specific hemodynamic gradients and patient immune status as predisposing factors for IE are largely unexplored.

Postoperative and short-term atrial tachyarrhythmia burdens after transcatheter vs surgical pulmonary valve replacement among congenital heart disease patients.

Objective: We examined the atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) burden among patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) following transcatheter (TC-) or surgical (S-) pulmonary valve replacement (PVR).

Design/setting: This was a retrospective observational study of patients who underwent PVR from 2010 to 2016 at UCLA Medical Center.

Patients: Patients of all ages who had prior surgical repair for CHD were included.

Initial results from the off-label use of the SAPIEN S3 valve for percutaneous transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement: A multi-institutional experience.

Objectives: To describe a multi-center experience of percutaneous transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) using the Edwards Sapien S3 Valve.

Background: Off-label use of the Sapien S3 valve can allow for TPVR in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and large diameter dysfunctional right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT). The initial experience at five centers with the SAPIEN S3 valve for TPVR is presented with a focus on procedural techniques, success, complications, and efficacy.

Results of the combined U.S. multicenter postapproval study of the Nit-Occlud PDA device for percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

Objectives: To report the results of the Nit-Occlud PDA prospective postapproval study (PAS) along with a comparison to the results of the pivotal and continued access trials.

Background: The Nit-Occlud PDA (PFM Medical, Cologne, Germany), a nitinol coil patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occluder, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2013.

Methods: The PAS enrolled a total of 184 subjects greater than 6 months of age, weighing at least 5 kg, with PDAs less than 4 mm by angiography at 11 centers.

Ventricular arrhythmia burden after transcatheter versus surgical pulmonary valve replacement.

Objective: Comparative ventricular arrhythmia (VA) outcomes following transcatheter (TC-PVR) or surgical pulmonary valve replacement (S-PVR) have not been evaluated. We sought to compare differences in VAs among patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) following TC-PVR or S-PVR.

Methods: Patients with repaired CHD who underwent TC-PVR or S-PVR at the UCLA Medical Center from 2010 to 2016 were analysed retrospectively.

Incidence and outcome of infective endocarditis following percutaneous versus surgical pulmonary valve replacement.

Objectives: To provide a comparison of the outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) in patients undergoing transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) versus surgical pulmonary valve replacement (SPVR).

Background: Although TPVR is thought to be associated with a higher risk of IE than SPVR, there is paucity of data to support this.

Methods: Patients who underwent TPVR or SPVR at UCLA between October 2010 and September 2016 were included and retrospectively analyzed.

Transcatheter native pulmonary valve and tricuspid valve replacement with the sapien XT: Initial experience and development of a new delivery platform.

Background: While the Melody valve is unable to be used for replacement of large pulmonary outflow tracts, the 29 mm Sapien XT transcatheter valve, designed specifically for aortic valve replacement, can potentially be used in these large native outflow tracts. Techniques to enable off-label use of the Sapien XT valve for large-diameter pulmonary and tricuspid valve replacement are described.

Methods: Use of the Sapien valve for transcatheter pulmonary and tricuspid valve replacement using both the commercially available Novaflex+ system and using a novel flexible delivery system was reviewed.

Aortic root compression during transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement.

Objectives: To describe the incidence of aortic root compression (ARC) during transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR).

Background: ARC can occur during balloon sizing of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) or during coronary compression testing (BS/CCT) prior to TPVR, causing aortic valve dysfunction and/or root distortion with or without coronary compression. This has limited the use of TPVR in patients with native RVOTs, including those with a transannular patch (TAP).

Transcatheter melody valve placement in large diameter bioprostheses and conduits: What is the optimal "Landing zone"?

Objectives: This study sought to elucidate the optimal bioprosthetic valve (BPV) size prior to Melody valve implantation.

Background: BPVs provide an ideal "landing zone" for future Melody valve insertion. To guide surgical choice of BPV size, it is important to understand which BPV size can serve consistently as substrates for Melody valve placements.

Echocardiography for patent ductus arteriosus including closure in adults.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) represents at least 5-10% of all congenital heart defects (CHDs) making it a very important commonly diagnosed lesion. Although spontaneous closure of the PDA occurs within 24 to 48 hours after birth in the majority, those children who do not have natural or surgical closure may have a persistent PDA into adulthood. The diagnosis is most often confirmed by echocardiography that also guides catheter-based interventions and surgeries.

Transcatheter closure of an iatrogenic ventricular septal defect after SAPIEN valve implantation.

A 57-year-old woman developed progressive calcific mitral and aortic valve disease with a porcelain aorta secondary to a history of radiation therapy. She was considered a very poor operative candidate and referred for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Four weeks after extensive coronary artery stenting, a TAVR was performed with a 23 mm Edwards SAPIEN valve (Edwards Life Sciences, Irvine, CA) through a transapical approach.

Transcatheter closure of a giant communication between the right pulmonary artery and left atrium in a neonate.

Direct communication between the right pulmonary artery and the left atrium is an extremely rare congenital pathologic entity characterized by right to left shunt and a rare cause of cyanosis in newborn. The value of echocardiography is emphasized in making the diagnosis as well as never before reported successful treatment with the Amplatzer vascular plug in a neonate.

Initial Kaiser Permanente Southern California Experience Embracing the New Technology of Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects.

As a result of individual physicians' initiative, transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defects-a new procedure-was made available to patients in the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Southern California Region soon after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved use of the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder. This ingenious device and the procedure for its implantation are described along with results of implantation in our initial 51 pediatric and adult patients. These results are compared with other published results.

Chest pain during stenting of a native aortic coarctation: a case for acute intercostal muscle ischemia and rhabdomyolysis.

An adult male experienced severe chest pain during stenting of a native aortic coarctation. He also developed the postcoarctectomy syndrome with paradoxical hypertension and abdominal pain. Our hypothesis suggests that sudden interruption of large collateral blood flow caused acute chest wall muscle ischemia, rhabdomyolysis, and severe chest pain.