Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has markedly changed the way aortic valve stenosis is treated. It is 18 years since the first patient was treated with TAVI for severe aortic stenosis. The original concept of TAVI was simple: insert a stent-like device by creating an opening in the obstructed aortic valve, and then suture a valve within the stent to ensure aortic competence. The technical achievement of this feat, however, took the time and ingenuity of both engineers and interventional cardiologists/surgeons with contributions from the imaging team, anaesthesiologists and nurses to pull it off. This close collaboration led to the birth of heart valve teams, and the initial success of TAVI has spurred further optimisation in procedural techniques, devices, improved patient selection and better team experience. These advances have culminated in the safe treatment of most patients with degenerative aortic valve stenosis by TAVI today
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