Has percutaneous aortic valve replacement taken center stage in the treatment of aortic valve disease?

Modern biomedical advances have propelled percutaneous valve replacement into an effective and powerful therapy for many heart valve diseases, especially aortic valve stenosis. Experiences so far suggest that outcomes for new percutaneous valve replacement surgery compare favorably with that of traditional valve surgery in selected patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. The inception of percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR) began in 1992 when the potential for treating valve diseases was demonstrated through a modern technique of endoluminal deployment of a catheter-mounted crimped stented heart valve in an animal model. The first successful demonstration of such novel technique of surgical replacement of a heart valve was performed in 2002, when valve implantation in a patient with aortic stenosis was reported. Despite initial stumbles and a perception of being an uphill task, PAVR has emerged as one of the breakthroughs in surgical procedures. More than 1500 citations were found in PubMed, half of which were available after 2011. This is primarily because more than 50,000 procedures are being performed in more than 40 countries worldwide, with encouraging outcomes, and several stented valves have been launched in the market. This review provides a detailed analysis of the current state of the art of PAVR. Moreover, a competitive landscape of various devices available in the market and their design considerations, biomaterial selections, and overall hemodynamic performance are presented.