Ascending-to-descending aortic bypass and aortic valve replacement for concomitant severe aortic coarctation and...

We present a 33-year-old male with severe, symptomatic aortic coarctation and aortic stenosis assessed on a humanitarian medical mission to a developing country. Contemplating limited time and available resources, we performed a simultaneous single-stage approach with ascending-to-descending aortic bypass with a reinforced gortex graft and concomitant aortic valve replacement through a median sternotomy. The patient had an uneventful postoperative convalescence and was discharged on postoperative day 5. At 1-year follow-up, he was asymptomatic and doing well with good blood pressure control and complete equalization of upper and lower limb blood pressure measurements. Computed tomography and transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated a widely patent ascending-to-descending aortic bypass graft and a normally functioning prosthetic aortic valve, respectively. In developing countries where health care resources are limited, a combined approach with an extra-anatomic, thoracic aortic bypass, and aortic valve replacement resulted in good early and 1-year outcomes. This procedure may represent the most effective surgical option for patients with concomitant aortic coarctation and aortic stenosis.