Aortic Valve Surgery

[Robert]

Greetings and thank you for your time and for this site.  It is a big help to people like me.  I'm an otherwise-healthy 47 YO male with severe aortic regurgitation and moderate/severe stenosis.  Borderline LVH.  Both the right atrium and aorta are slightly enlarged as well, and the root shows severe calcification.  No symptoms.  Surgery is advised by my cardiologist and by a second opinion so I am planning for early next year.  After much research I am inclined to the homograft and from what I understand it may be advantageous to do a full root replacement rather than a subcoronary implant.  My questions are: is a homograft usually implanted as a full root or a subcoronary?  Are there any real advantages of one over the other (assuming my root is salvageable)?  Are there time differences between the operations?  Is a mechanical valve a simpler and safer surgery?

Thanks so much.

[Hank Eyring]

Hello There Robert,

I am writing you to let you know about a list that myself and several other Heart Valve Replacement patients have created.

I am a 33 year old male who had aortic valve replacement surgery in April of 1999.  I often had questions about stuff like what do other people

[Robert]

Thanks for the response.  How about long-term outcomes between the two procedures?  Which do you think would be preferable?  Also, can a full root replacement be done through a minimally-invasive incision?

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

A mechanical valve is a simpler surgery. However, assuming your surgeon is experienced, a homograft surgery should be reasonably save in a young, healthy individual such as yourself. The homograft is usually placed as a full root, primarily because the aortic roots of people with aortic valve disease are usually at least a little dilated and diseased.