As growth of the elderly population continues to increase alongside
improvements in percutaneous and minimally invasive interventions,
cardiac surgeons question the role of high-risk surgery in treating
these patients. TAVR has transformed the management of symptomatic
severe aortic stenosis in elderly patients, and has become standard
therapy for patients greater than 80 years of age. With improvements in
procedural risks and technical complications for both transcatheter
valves and percutaneous interventions, should we rethink the operative
strategies for octogenarians and nonagenarians, particularly as they
apply to concurrent high-risk operations?