Porcine xenograft aortic root replacement in a three month old with severe truncal insufficiency

Outcomes for truncus arteriosus repair are impacted significantly by the severity of truncal valve dysfunction. When satisfactory repair of the regurgitant truncal valve is unattainable, replacement is required. Given our experience in children with stentless porcine xenografts in the aortic position and the incidence of early valve failure for aortic homografts in infants, we replaced a severely regurgitant truncal valve with a full-root porcine xenograft in a 3-month-old infant. The initial and early result are encouraging, suggesting that the stentless porcine xenograft may be considered an option in cases where primary repair of the truncal (or aortic) valve is not possible.