Aortic valve replacement in younger patients with aortic valve insuffienciency

Abstract

Aortic valve replacement is the common treatment of choice for severe aortic valve insufficiency (AI). AI is often caused by aortic root dilatation which leads to valve incompetence despite structurally normal valve leaflets. For this condition, aortic repair surgery with ring annuloplasty is considered a potentially superior option. Despite the availability of different annuloplasty rings, no guidelines for the surgical procedure nor the choice of annuloplasty ring exist. In this review, we outline the surgical treatment using valve-preserving procedures as an alternative to conventional aortic valve replacement.