{"id":25015,"date":"2018-08-21T10:19:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T15:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=25015"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:14:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:14:51","slug":"tavr-bicsupid-aortic-james-wudell-dr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2018\/08\/21\/tavr-bicsupid-aortic-james-wudell-dr\/","title":{"rendered":"Surgeon Q&A: What About TAVR for Bicuspid Aortic Valves?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great questions are coming in from our patient community about the use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)<\/a> for the treatment of bicuspid aortic valves<\/a>. \u00a0If you didn’t know, TAVR is a non-invasive approach to aortic valve replacement that does not require an incision to the patient’s sternum or ribs. \u00a0TAVR was approved by the FDA in 2011 for “high risk” patients. \u00a0In 2016, the FDA approved TAVR for “intermediate risk” patients. \u00a0Recently, clinical trials have launched to test the safety and efficacy of TAVR in “low risk” patients.<\/p>\n

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To educate our community about the use of TAVR and bicuspid aortic valves, I reached out to Dr. James Wudel, a leading cardiac surgeon at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. \u00a0Dr. Wudell is a TAVR expert who has helped many patients from our community.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Wudel Says…<\/h2>\n

Bicuspid Aortic Valve is one of the most common congenital heart disorders, affecting approximately 1-2 percent of the population. With BAV, two of the 3 leaflets of the aortic valve fuse during fetal development. Subsequently, the valve may deteriorate over time and become narrowed (stenosis<\/a>), or leak (regurgitation<\/a>), just like a a trileaflet valve. All early TAVR trials performed in the United States to get FDA approval were performed on trileaflet aortic valves only.<\/p>\n

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Dr. James Wudel<\/p>\n

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BAV, at least at the current time, poses several challenges to overcome before becoming readily available for TAVR.<\/p>\n