Hi Mark, Welcome I'm glad you found us, but sorry for the reason. With your lung fibrosis and being told your doctors wouldn't do OHS, it sounds like TAVI would be a great option for someone like you.
I know you didn't ask, but I wanted to suggest beside Coselli you MAY want to get opinions from another center that does TAVI. Right NOW in the US there are trials for 2 different Aortic percutaneous Valves, Edwards Sapien and Medronics Corevalve.
The Sapien trials started in 2007 and they already have released many of the results Its called the PARTNER Trial (If you search here for Sapien or PARTNER there are quite a few threads) Here is the link to the clinical trial info and where they do them /who qualifies etc
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT00530894?term=sapien&rank=1&show_locs=Y#locn This is the valve they are talking about the possibility of being approved by the FDA at the end of the year/beginning of next, 2012. Many of the centers listed have about 4 years experience placing them etc, some a little less if they joined later, but still have been doing them a couple years. I might be wrong, but I think only the locations listed do them.
The Corvalve is relatively new, in the US at least.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01240902?term=corevalve&rank=4&show_locs=Y#locn
They just started the trials in November 10, so probably started using them the beginning of this year, by the time you recruit patients, do the testing etc. so even the centers with the most experience have only done them a few months. Also it is too early to have any results.
Most new technologies have learning curves, so I would probably talk to Coselli and one of the doctors in the centers listed for the Sapien, if possible.
Sorry if I over stepped
