Early And Long-Term Results Of Aortic Valve Sparing Aortic Root Reimplantation Surgery For Bicuspid And Tricuspid Aortic Valves

Introduction: To evaluate early and long-term clinical outcomes following aortic valve sparing aortic root reimplantation surgery in patients with leaking bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valves. Methods: The study consisted of 92 consecutive adult patients (tricuspid aortic valve group = 63 and bicuspid aortic valve group = 29) who underwent aortic valve sparing aortic root reimplantation surgery with or without aortic cusp repair for dilatation of the aortic root and/or aortic valve regurgitation at our institution from April 2004 to October 2016. Clinical outcomes were investigated using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests between groups. Results: The follow-up was 100% complete with a mean time of 5.3 +/- 3.3 years. The 30-day in-hospital mortality was 3.1% in tricuspid aortic valve group and 3.4% in bicuspid aortic valve group patients. The overall survival rates at 10 years did not differ between bicuspid aortic valve and tricuspid aortic valve patient groups (96.6 +/- 3.3% vs. 90.3 +/- 4.2%, p = 0.3). Freedom from recurrent aortic valve regurgitation (>2+) at 10 years was 90.5 +/- 4.1% in tricuspid aortic valve group and 75.7 +/- 8.7% in bicuspid aortic valve group (p = 0.06). Freedom from aortic valve reoperation at 10 years was 100% in tricuspid aortic valve group and 83.9 +/- 7.4% in bicuspid aortic valve group (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Aortic valve sparing aortic root reimplantation surgery is a safe and efficient technique, providing acceptable long-term survival with low rates of valve-related complications in both tricuspid aortic valve and bicuspid aortic valve patient groups. However, aortic valve reoperation rates at 10 years follow-up were higher in bicuspid aortic valve group patients compared to tricuspid aortic valve group patients.