Emergency percutaneous aortic valve replacement in a patient with a cervical spine fracture secondary to critical aortic stenosis.

Abstract

An 81 year-old female with severe aortic stenosis was admitted electively to determine her anatomic suitability for trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Transthoracic echocardiogram prior to referral confirmed critical aortic stenosis with a mean transaortic valve gradient of 106mmHg, aortic valve area (AVA) 0.6cm2 and dimensionless index (DI) 0.18. She reported a significant symptom burden with New York Heart Association Class III dyspnoea, four episodes of syncope in the month prior to admission and exertional chest pain.Copyright © 2014 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ).