Rapid deployment and sutureless aortic prostheses: Time to validate unusual oroff label indications?

Abstract

Currently available evidence supports the safety and efficacy of rapid deployment and sutureless prostheses for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in aortic stenosis as suggested by the International Expert Consensus in 2016. Following the increasing experience and the good results obtained in AVR, the use of sutureless and rapid deployment prostheses in peculiar situations, at times as an ‘off-label’ indication, has been reported demonstrating to represent an effective solution to challenging surgical problems, such as described by Piperata et al. in a recent issue of the Journal of Cardiac Surgery for the treatment of active infective endocarditis complicated by an extensive aortic annulus abscess. The considerable experience acquired so far with rapid deployment and sutureless valves has stimulated many surgeons to use such devices in patients in whom limiting the overall ischemic time is felt to be of paramount importance, but also in different surgical scenarios. Therefore, we believe the time has come to strongly support the unusual or even ‘off label’ employment of these devices by including them in future recommendations.