Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) versus sutureless aortic valve replacement (SUAVR) for aortic stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of matched studies

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease and its incidence is increasing with an ageing population (1). Untreated AS carries a high mortality of up to 50% within 2 years of symptom appearance (2-4). Surgical aortic valve replacement remains the gold-standard treatment with proven benefits in survival (5,6). However, approximately a third of patients are unsuitable for operative management secondary to a number of factors including poor left ventricular ejection fraction, advanced age or pre-existing comorbidities (7-9). With advances in technology and technique refinement there is much interest in new treatment alternatives, namely: transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and sutureless aortic valve replacement (SUAVR)