On August 6, Prof. WANG Jian'an, President of SAHZU and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a live demonstration of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for a patient with severe pure aortic regurgitation (AR) at the SEOUL VALVES 2026 in Seoul, Korea.

The patient was a 70‑year‑old man with a six‑month history of recurrent chest tightness and exertional dyspnea. He was diagnosed with severe aortic regurgitation, moderate mitral regurgitation, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD). His New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was III, and his Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk score was 4.5%, placing him in the high‑risk category for conventional surgical valve replacement.

Pure aortic regurgitation presents distinct challenges for TAVR, as the annulus lacks calcified nodules that serve as natural anchoring points—unlike the more common calcific aortic stenosis. Additionally, a horizontal aorta adds further coaxial alignment difficulties. These factors make AR‑TAVR a globally recognized technical challenge, placing high demands on both device design and operator precision.

During the procedure, Prof. WANG provided live commentary to the congress audience. He explained that the domestically developed, AR‑specific valve system features a steerable delivery catheter that helps navigate complex anatomies. Using this system, the team advanced the valve to the correct position, placed the anchoring components, and released the valve under rapid pacing. Angiography confirmed good valve position, proper morphology, and no significant leakage.

In recent years, the team has been frequently invited to perform live surgical demonstrations at major overseas conferences, bringing Chinese original diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and domestically produced valve devices to a global audience through sustained cross‑border academic exchange.

Guided by the principle of "answering questions that others have not answered, and solving problems that others have not solved," Prof. WANG's team continues to deepen its work in heart valve intervention. They have gradually established a comprehensive system for domestically developed medical devices covering all heart valve diseases. To date, 11 devices have achieved breakthroughs from nonexistence to market availability in China, and the team's technologies and products have been adopted by 837 medical centers across 34 countries. Moving forward, the team will continue to be driven by clinical needs, fostering technological innovation and deeper international academic collaboration, so that China‑developed "heart" solutions can benefit more valve patients worldwide, contributing to global cardiovascular medicine.