Methods: Between October 2010 and February 2012, 35 patients (16 males, 19 females; mean age 77.4±6.9 years; range 58 to 91 years) who were at high risk for surgery (EuroSCORE 26.0±9.9) and underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation in our clinic were included. Edwards SAPIEN (n=27) and CoreValve prostheses (n=8) were implanted by transfemoral (n=33), transapical (n=1), and subclavian (n=1) approaches. The mean preoperative echocardiographic valve area was 0.6±0.1 cm², while the mean transvalvular gradient was 53.3±8.0 mmHg.

Results: The procedural success rate was 97%. Following the procedure, the mean transvalvular gradient decreased to 9.8±2.7 mmHg, whereas the average aortic valve area increased to 1.9±0.2 cm². The mean NYHA functional capacity reduced from 3.5±0.5 before the procedure to 1.4±0.6 at three months during follow-up (p<0.001). A significant increase in the mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was observed at one month (52.5±10.4% versus 50.1±11.4%, p<0.001). Permanent pacemaker implantation was required in four patients (3 CoreValve, 1 Edwards SAPIEN). Four patients (%11.4) died within the first 30 days of follow-up. Nine patients died during a mean of nine months (range 0-17 months), including procedural mortality.

Conclusion: Our single-center procedural success rate and earlyand mid-term follow-up outcomes are promising for this patient group, showing consistency with the other studies in the world.