Trans‐catheter aortic valve implantation with the direct flow medical prosthesis: Single center short‐term clinical and echocardiographic outcomes

Objectives To analyze our single center experience with the Direct Flow Medical (DFM). Background The DFM has been recently introduced to the market and large real world experiences are lacking. Methods A total of 126 patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AVS) were treated by the same team from March 2013 to May 2015. Device success and procedural safety were classified, according to valve academic research consortium (VARC) criteria, for the entire cohort, including patients treated in the early phases of our learning curve. Results Clinical and trans‐thoracic echocardiography follow‐up was performed (median duration 279 days; 36–761 days). Mean age was 80.9 ± 5.5 years and median logistic Euro‐SCORE was 15.9 (5.5–84.2). Cardiovascular 30‐day mortality was 4.8% (6/126), device success 89.6% (113/126), and early safety 85.7% (108/126). At discharge, no aortic regurgitation (AR) was present in 85.7% and mild AR in 14.3% of the patients. Estimated 1‐year follow‐up survival was 91%. At follow‐up, no AR was present in 87.3%, mild AR in 10.9%, and moderate AR in 1.8%. Mean gradient of 15.1 ± 6.3 mm Hg and prosthesis effective orifice area of 1.6 ± 0.6 cm2 were reported. Conclusions In this single center experience, the DFM valve showed satisfactory clinical and hemodynamic results. Short‐term follow‐up confirmed the consistent clinical results, with low rates of AR and acceptable trans‐prosthetic gradients and prosthetic effective orifice area.