Review of surgical prosthetic paravalvular leaks: diagnosis and catheter-based closure

Abstract

Paravalvular leak (PVL) is an uncommon yet serious complication associated with surgical prosthetic valve implantation. Paravalvular leak can have significant clinical consequence such as congestive heart failure, haemolytic anaemia, and infective endocarditis. Recently, transcatheter therapy has been applied to the treatment of this disorder with reasonable procedural and clinical success. This review discusses the current state of PVLs, the utilization of multi-modality imaging in their diagnosis and treatment, and the available therapeutic options. Further aim of this review is to examine transcatheter therapy of PVLs including the principles, outcomes, and procedural-related complications.