1. Which Aortic Valve Can Be Surgically Reconstructed?
- Author
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Jan M. Federspiel, Karen B. Abeln, Tristan Ehrlich, Hans-Joachim Schäfers, and Christian Giebels
- Subjects
Aortic valve ,Reoperation ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Aortic root ,Aortic Valve Insufficiency ,Regurgitation (circulation) ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Aneurysm ,Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease ,Internal medicine ,Medicine ,Endocarditis ,Humans ,cardiovascular diseases ,Aorta ,business.industry ,food and beverages ,medicine.disease ,Aortic valve reconstruction ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030228 respiratory system ,Aortic Valve ,Structural Heart Disease (RJ Siegel and NC Wunderlich, Section Editors) ,Cardiology ,cardiovascular system ,Cusp (anatomy) ,Unicuspid ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business ,Calcification - Abstract
Purpose of Review Preservation or repair of the aortic valve has evolved dynamically in the past 20 years. It leads to a high freedom from valve-related complications if an adequate valve durability can be achieved; it may possibly also improve survival. To date, little structured information is available about which valves can be repaired and which should better be replaced. Recent Findings For surgical decision-making, the size of the aortic root is important and the anatomy of the aortic valve must be considered. In the presence of root aneurysm, most tricuspid and bicuspid aortic valves can be preserved. In aortic regurgitation and normal aortic dimensions, the majority of tricuspid and bicuspid aortic valves can be repaired with good long-term durability. In bicuspid aortic valves, the morphologic characteristics must be taken into consideration. Unicuspid and quadricuspid aortic valves can be repaired in selected cases. Generally, cusp calcification is a sign of a poor substrate for repair; the same is true for cusp retraction and cusp destruction due to active endocarditis. They are associated with limited valve durability. Summary Using current concepts, many non-calcified aortic valves can be repaired. Modern imaging, in particular three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), should be able to define repairable aortic valves with a high probability.
- Published
- 2022
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