Beating aortic valve replacement surgery as an alternative to transcatheter aortic valve implantation in a patient with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the standard treatment for high-risk patients with aortic stenosis (AS); however, alternative treatments for patients who are ineligible for TAVI are controversial.

CASE PRESENTATION: 56 year-old female who required 6 γ dobutamine support due to congestive heart failure was diagnosed as severe aortic stenosis with bicuspid valve. Echocardiography revealed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 15%. The patient was relatively young for TAVI, and TAVI was not licensed for patient presenting with a bicuspid aortic valve in places other than the limited institutions in Japan. On pump beating aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed with selective antegrade coronary artery blood perfusion. She resumed a completely normal lifestyle by 3 weeks after the operation.

CONCLUSIONS: A relatively young patient for TAVI who was diagnosed as aortic stenosis with severely reduced ejection fraction and bicuspid valve is reported. Beating AVR with a continuously selective antegrade-perfusion was achieved safely with good clinical results in a patient with severely reduced left ventricular (LV) function. Beating AVR can be considered as a potential alternative for patients who are ineligible for conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and TAVI.