[Valve Re-replacement Combined with Patch Enlargement of the Aortic Annulus for Bioprosthetic Valve Deterioration;Report of a Case]

A 42-year-old woman had undergone aortic valve replacement with a 19 mm bioprosthetic valve for aortic stenosis due to a bicuspid valve 8 years before. She was admitted to our hospital for valve re-replacement owing to the prosthetic valve dysfunction. As the patient's valve annulus was markedly thickened owing to pannus formation, we were unable to pass a 19 mm valve sizer through the annulus even after removal of the prosthetic valve and the tissue surrounding the annulus. Valve re-replacement combined with patch enlargement of the aortic annulus was performed to obtain maximally effective orifice area. Her postoperative course was uneventful, and echocardiography revealed no perivalvular leak. In valve re-replacement, it is important to remove the prosthetic valve and the tissue surrounding the annulus to the greatest extent possible and consider patch enlargement of the aortic annulus to avoid patient-prosthesis mismatch in a patient with a small aortic annulus.