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February 23, 2024
Remembering TAVR Pioneer Prof. Alain Cribier, 1945-2024
Cardiac Interventions Today celebrates the life and remembers the achievements of Professor Alain Cribier, MD, FACC, FESC. Prof. Cribier’s death on February 16 at age 79 has been reported, including in Le Monde (in French). Prof. Cribier was Emeritus Professor of Cardiology and Past Head of the Department of Cardiology at University Hospital Charles Nicolle in Rouen, France.
In April 2002, Prof. Cribier and his team at University Hospital Charles Nicolle successfully performed the first-in-human (FIH) transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
Prof. Cribier joined Charles Nicolle in 1972 as a resident in the Department of Cardiology and became Professor of Medicine in 1983. In 1999, Prof. Cribier and partners launched Percutaneous Valve Technologies, Inc. (PVT), which was acquired by Edwards Lifesciences in 2004.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the FIH TAVR, Professor Alain Cribier discussed his pioneering work and the many milestones of his career in the July/August 2022 issue of Cardiac Interventions Today. The complete interview is available online here.
In the interview with Cardiac Interventions Today, Prof. Cribier recounted the FIH TAVR procedure at Rouen.
In remembering the patient, he remarked, “He was young, at 57 years of age, and presented with severe, bicuspid, type 1 aortic stenosis. He was critically ill, dying, and in cardiogenic shock, with most of the current contraindications for TAVR today....”
He recalled the immediate aftermath of the procedure:
It is hard to describe the emotion of the entire team when we observed the color of the patient’s face passing from black to gray and gray to pink within minutes and the patient smiling and thanking everyone. The vision of the valve opening and closing on transthoracic echocardiography was overwhelming for all of us. A few tears flowed among the team. It was a dream come true.
While drinking champagne with the patient in his room a few hours later, I realized that if we could succeed in such a challenging case, we might enter a new era for treating desperate, inoperable cases. I was ready to repeat it in less critically ill patients via the transfemoral route. Of course, I could not anticipate the unbelievable, fast expansion of the procedure and the explosion of indications that we see today.
CHU Rouen’s “Homage au Professeur Alain Cribier” (in French) was posted online here, which announced (in English and French) the following:
- Commemorative Ceremony: The CHU Rouen homage noted that a commemorative ceremony, open to all, will be held on March 20, 2024, at 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Rouen Town Hall. The ceremony will be an opportunity to retrace the extraordinary life and destiny of Prof. Cribier through pictures, photos, and testimonies by those who knew him well.
- The Alain-Cribier Heart Valve Institute: Prof. Cribier’s ambition for the cardiology department of Rouen University Hospital was to create an institute dedicated to care, teaching, and research on heart valves. In his memory, this institute will be created and will bear his name.
- Supporting the Alain-Cribier Heart Valve Institute: Friends and colleagues are invited to make a gesture and contribute to the development of this future valve institute, which was so close to the heart of Prof. Cribier. The funds raised will be entirely donated to the cardiology department of Rouen University Hospital. Donations via the Charles-Nicolle Foundation can be made here.
The Charles-Nicolle Foundation donation page stated the following:
Former head of the cardiology department at Rouen University Hospital for 20 years, Professor Alain Cribier was internationally known for having developed the transcatheter aortic valve implantation technique. Recently elected honorary member of the National Academy of Medicine and Knight of the Legion of Honor, Professor Alain Cribier was a true visionary, inventive and tenacious, always in action and yet accessible, smiling, and available.
Thanks to his talent, marked by simplicity, more than three million patients suffering from calcific aortic stenosis have been saved worldwide to date.
Invited to transmit his technique throughout the world, Professor Alain Cribier has always remained faithful to the Rouen University Hospital and its cardiology team, today led by Professor Hélène Eltchaninoff, MD.
Among the many tributes from colleagues and reports in the media, In Memoriam statements were issued by the American College of Cardiology (ACC), European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and PCR on their websites.
ACC President B. Hadley Wilson, MD, stated, “From the first days of balloon aortic valvuloplasty nearly 40 years ago, through the first-in-man TAVR 20 years ago, until today where TAVR is now the standard of care, Dr. Cribier always remained humble and committed to his colleagues and the betterment of patient care. The field of cardiology is forever changed because of his vision, leadership, and persistence.”
ESC eulogized, “Alain Cribier was a giant in his field, and he combined his great expertise with a touching kindness and modesty. We have lost a friend, a scientist, clinician, mentor, and, above all, an outstanding personality whose legacy continues to save lives every day.” Prof. Cribier was awarded the ESC Gold Medal in 2016 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cardiology.
PCR remembered Prof. Cribier as a “pioneer in the noninvasive treatment of valvular disease, superb doctor and professor of medicine, and great humanist whose concern and care for his patients went beyond any invention, no matter how revolutionary.” In 2003, PCR bestowed the Andreas Grüntzig Ethica Award upon Prof. Cribier in recognition of his outstanding contributions to interventional procedures and patient care.
“The life and work of Prof. Alain Cribier stands as a testimony to all that is good in medicine, and he will remain as an inspiration for generations to come,” concluded the PCR remembrance.
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