Percutaneous cardiovascular valve replacement - Biomaterials and Devices for the Circulatory System - page 136

mitting self-orientation in the ascending aorta as much as a supplemen-
tary anchorage. Device and procedural enhancements are mandatory to
assure reliable and safe prosthesis delivery, positioning, deployment,
retrievability, anchoring and function. Durability but mainly long-term
safety is the most important issue now that feasibility has been largely
documented. Transarterial, retrograde prosthesis implantation represents
a signifi cant enhancement with respect to delivery and procedural simplic-
ity. The potential for patient benefi t associated with the elimination of the
adverse effects of the heart/lung machine and the major surgical trauma
of the mid-sternotomy, commonly encountered with conventional valve
replacement techniques, is signifi cant. The percutaneous approach to valve
replacement promises much, and indeed has delivered in terms of the
success of the clinical studies already carried out globally. However, it will
only meet its full potential, and the horizon for benefi t will become appar-
ent only when this technique enters mainstream clinical practice. This is
not a distant horizon, rather, with the current level of success, it is very
near indeed.

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