European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2011
Aortic valve repair with ascending aortic aneurysms: associated lesions and adjunctive techniques.
Patients with supracoronary ascending aortic aneurysms can have aortic insufficiency (AI) due to dilatation of the sinotubular junction and/or associated cusp pathology. The incidence and types of cusp lesions as well as the effect of AI severity and cusp repair techniques on outcome in this patient population is not well defined. ⋯ Cusp pathology is frequently encountered in patients with ascending aortic dilatation and AI. Severe AI is not a contraindication to valve-preserving surgery, but careful identification and repair of cusp pathology, in addition to sinotubular junction reduction, is critical for durable, long-term outcome.