Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVR) may cause life threatening coronary artery obstruction, whether implanted in native aortic stenosis or bioprosthetic aortic valve failure.
We have developed and validated the techniques of BASILICA (Bioprosthetic Aortic Scallop Intentional Laceration to prevent Iatrogenic Coronary Artery obstruction during transcatheter aortic valve replacement), using bedside modification of off-the-shelf guidewires. These bedside modifications require additional assembly steps and special expertise, and thereby risks procedure failure and complications.
Transmural Systems and NHLBI have developed a purpose-built electrosurgical guidewire system (TELLTALE) to simplify the BASILICA-TAVR procedure. The purpose of this protocol is to test the efficacy and safety of this purpose-built guidewire in the setting of BASILICA-TAVR.