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As reported by an edwards lifesciences field clinical specialist, a commander delivery system balloon burst occurred during deployment of a 20mm sapien 3 ultra resilia in the aortic procedure.Additional volume (+2cc) was added to the delivery system prior to inflation.The team suspects that the balloon shoulder came in contact with a piece of calcification on the sinotubular junction, causing the balloon to burst.The valve was fully deployed, so the delivery system was withdrawn safely and discarded.There was no injury to the patient, and the patient remained stable throughout the procedure.
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A supplemental mdr is being submitted for correction and additional information based on the engineer evaluation.The following sections of this report have been updated: corrected h6 component code, additional codes added to h6 type of investigation, corrected h6 investigation findings, and corrected h6 investigation conclusions.The event reported is anticipated in the risk management documentation for transcatheter heart valve procedures.A previous investigation into this type of event is captured in an edwards lifesciences technical summary and applies to this complaint.Additional assessment of the failure mode is not required at this time.The device was not returned for evaluation.Due to the unavailability of the complaint device, engineering was unable to perform any visual inspection, functional testing, or dimensional analysis.Imagery of the patient's anatomy was provided, and presence of calcification in the landing zone was observed.Per the technical summary, the instructions for use (ifu), training manuals and current risk mitigations have been reviewed.No inadequacies have been identified with regards to warnings, contraindications, and the directions/conditions for the successful use of the device.Through extensive complaint investigations, balloon burst events during valve deployment have not been associated with device malfunctions or manufacturing nonconformances.Rather, the root cause for these events have historically been due to calcification in the landing zone or over-inflation of the balloon.The delivery system balloon burst was empirically confirmed.Available information suggests calcification likely contributed to the event as the customer reported "team suspects that the balloon shoulder came in contact with a piece of calcification on the sinotubular junction" and the provided imagery shows calcification was present in the landing zone.The presence of calcification can create a challenging anatomy for balloon inflation.While the balloons are sufficiently designed and tested to ensure the burst pressure is at or above the rated burst pressure, calcified nodules can compromise the structure of the balloon wall via following mechanisms such as puncture, local overstretching, open cell impingement, or stress concentration.Additionally, the customer also reported "additional volume (+2cc) had been added to the delivery system prior to inflation".While the prescribed nominal inflation volume is provided in the ifu, over-inflation can expose the balloon to pressures high enough to cause it to burst.Complaint histories for all reported events are reviewed against trending control limits on a monthly basis, and any excursions above the control limits are assessed and documented as part of this monthly review.Since no edwards product defects or labeling deficiencies were identified, no corrective or preventative action is required.
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