Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 21, 2025

Full-root Aortic Valve Replacement by Stentless Aortic Xenografts in Patients with Small Aortic Roots
Published on: May 21, 2017
Mechanical aortic valve may no longer be a contraindication to inner branch aortic arch endografts
Eric Ta Lim1,2, Carmen Ruiz3, Oliver T Lyons1,2
1Department of Vascular, Endovascular and Transplant Surgery, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Objectives:
The presence of a mechanical aortic valve has been a contraindication to the use of an arch branch aortic endograft due to the risk of damaging the valve, resulting in acute aortic regurgitation, or a trapped endograft.
Methods:
We present a 67-year-old woman, with a background of Marfan's syndrome and a previous Bentall's procedure, who presented with a symptomatic enlarging aortic arch and descending thoracic aortic aneurysm, with a type 1A endoleak.
Results:
Using an inner branch arch endograft (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Indiana), the nose cone of the delivery system was passed laterally through the semi-circular aperture of the mechanical aortic valve to facilitate deployment just distal to the coronary buttons.
Conclusions:
With advancement of endovascular technology, techniques and experience, endovascular aortic arch repair in the presence of a mechanical aortic valve is feasible.
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