Long-term Results of Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Replacement and Aortic Cusp Repair

Long-term results of valve-sparing aortic root replacement (VSRR) and aortic cusp repair for aortic regurgitation are unclear.

VSRR by reimplantation was performed in 363 patients. Tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) and bicuspid aortic valve were found in 285 and 71 patients, respectively.

Aortic cusp repair was performed in 268 patients. Of patients with TAV 129 had central plication of the Arantius node, 36 had free margin resuspension, and 71 had reinforcement. Mean follow-up was 71.4 months. Among TAV patients freedom from aortic valve reoperation at 10 and 15 years was 85.1% and 78.3%, respectively. Freedom from aortic valve reoperation at 10 years was lower in patients with cusp prolapse than without (77.4% vs 93.2%, P = .007). The overall freedom from more than mild aortic regurgitation at 10 and 15 years was 72.4% and 64.0%, respectively. It was also significantly greater in patients without cusp prolapse (78.4% vs 67.7%, P = .02). As for the cusp repair technique the freedom from aortic valve reoperation at 10 years was significantly better in patients who underwent only resuspension or reinforcement techniques compared with patients who underwent only central plication technique (100% vs 72.8%, P = .008).

Long-term results of VSRR with aortic cusp repair were satisfactory. The resuspension technique appears to be useful for repairing aortic cusp prolapse in patients with TAV.