Background. Despite a wide development in aortic
leaflets repair techniques, aortic valve annuloplastic procedures
are still poorly investigated. We present our
aortic valve annuloplastic system consisting of a handmade
prosthetic ring with 2 components for reshaping
the aortic annulus and sinotubular junction (STJ) and
illustrates our surgical approach and clinical results.
Methods. Since February 2003, 45 patients with aortic
valve regurgitation underwent aortic annuloplasty using
the new ring. Mean patient age was 58 16 years (range,
46 to 76 years). The ring has 2 components: a circular ring
used to undersize the circumference of the aortoventricular
junction and 3-crown-like shape ring used for STJ
remodeling. The circular ring was sutured into the left
ventricular outflow tract in the aortic subvalvular position
and the STJ ring was sutured from the outside of the
aortic root just at the level of the STJ. The 3 vertical bands
of the STJ ring were fixed to the underlying circular ring
to stabilize the continuity between the STJ and nadir of
the aortic valve.
Results. No in-hospital death occurred. Two patients
had residual trivial aortic valve regurgitation postoperatively,
and 3 patients required treatment for residual
aortic regurgitation (more than mild). Mean length of the
coaptation surface was 10 2 mm. The mean clinical
follow-up (100% complete) was 22 16 months. All
patients were free from cardiac and valve-related events,
and no complications due to ring implantation occurred.
Conclusions. This ring reshapes the functional aortic
annulus and stabilizes all components of the native
aortic valve stent to improve long-term results of valve
repair
