ObjectiveTo investigate the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in hemodynamic evaluation of aortic root reconstruction.MethodsThe clinical data of 1 patient with severe aortic valve stenosis was analyzed. Enhanced CT images were used as the original data, and professional software was used to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) model and fluid mechanics simulation of the aorta (including preoperative, postoperative and ideal conditions).ResultsThe 3D reconstruction model could directly present the distribution of valve calcification and the dilatation of the ascending aorta. The remodeled sinotubular junction and sinus structure were observed in the model under postoperative and ideal conditions. The improvement of ascending aorta dilatation was evaluated statistically by the diameter distribution before and after surgery. CFD simulation showed that the area of high flow velocity, pressure intensity and wall shear stress before surgery were consistent with the expansion area of the ascending aorta, and the restricted blood flow acceleration was observed at the angle between the arch and the descending aorta. In the ideal condition, the streamline of blood at the descending aorta was more stable and flat compared with preoperative or postoperative conditions, and there was no obvious abnormal high pressure and high wall shear stress area in the ascending aorta. The cardiopulmonary bypass time was 106 min, of which the aortic cross-clamp time was 60 min. The cardiac echocardiography indicated that the aortic valve worked well, and the peak systolic blood velocity was 1.7 m/s. The length of hospital stay after surgery was 12 d, including 2 d in ICU. The ventilator use time was 11.6 h. The patient did not have any remarkable discomfort during the 1-year follow-up.ConclusionCFD can be used to evaluate anatomic and hemodynamic abnormalities before aortic root reconstruction surgery. Postoperative reconstruction simulation can be performed again to evaluate the surgical effect, and meanwhile, virtual improvement can be tried for the unresolved problems to accumulate diagnosis and treatment experience, so as to provide patients with more accurate and personalized diagnosis and treatment procedure.
ObjectiveTo assess outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for pure native aortic valve regurgitation.MethodsA total of 129 patients underwent transfemoral TAVR in Fuwai Hospital from May 2019 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 83 males and 46 females with an average age of 72.26±8.97 years. The patients were divided into a pure native aortic valve regurgitation group (17 patients) and an aortic valve stenosis group (112 patients).ResultsThe incidence of valve in valve was higher in the pure native aortic valve regurgitation group (47.0% vs. 16.1%, P<0.01). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in conversion to surgery, intraoperative use of extracorporeal circulation, intraoperative left ventricular rupture, postoperative use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), peripheral vascular complications, disabled stroke, death, or pacemaker implantation. There was no statistical difference in the diameter of annulus (25.75±2.21 mm vs. 24.70±2.90 mm, P=0.068) or diameter of outflow tract (25.82±3.75 mm vs. 25.37±3.92 mm, P=0.514) between the pure native aortic valve regurgitation group and the aortic valve stenosis group.ConclusionTransfemoral TAVR is a feasible method for patients with pure native aortic valve regurgitation. The diameter of annulus plane, the diameter of outflow tract and the shape of outflow tract should be evaluated.
ObjectiveTo investigate and evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bentall operation in the reoperation of patients with small aortic root or annulus.MethodsBentall procedure was performed in 24 patients with small aortic root or annulus in our hospital from September 2014 to December 2019. There were 18 males and 6 females with a mean age of 31-68 (45.70±15.27) years. All patients had undergone a previous replacement of the aortic valve including 20 patients receiving valve replacement, 2 patients aortic root replacement with a valved conduit and 2 patients bioprothesis replacement.ResultsThere was no early death in hospital and one death during the 30-day postoperative period. Re-thoracotomy due to bleeding was necessary in only 2 patients and no bleeding was related to the proximal anastomosis of the conduit. One patient performed pacemaker implantation for heart block after the procedure. The mean sizes of implanted aortic valve prosthesis were 22.75±1.78 mm. A mean gradient across the aortic valve prostheses in the postoperative echocardiographic examination was 11.17±2.24 mm Hg.ConclusionBentall procedure is safe and allows a larger size of prosthesis implantation in patients with small aortic annulus or root after previous aortic valve or complete root replacement, resulting in good postoperative hemodynamic characteristics and short-term clinical results.
Objective To investigate and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the aortic-mitral annular enlargement technique (double annular enlargement) in patients with small-size valve prostheses after prior valve surgery. MethodsThe clinical data of patients who underwent double valve annular enlargement in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital from April 2020 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 30 patients were collected, including 2 males and 28 females aged 9-78 (52.71±3.53) years. All patients had previous heart valve surgery, including 1 patient receiving the third heart surgery. All patients were operated on successfully and there were no postoperative in-hospital deaths. There was no postoperative bleeding which needed a secondary open-chest hemostasis, and one patient underwent permanent pacemaker implantation due to postoperative sick sinus syndrome. The mean diameter of the implanted prosthetic aortic valve was 24.23±1.60 mm, which was significantly larger than that of the preoperative aortic valve (21.03±1.90 mm, P＜0.001). The mean diameter of the implanted prosthetic mitral valve was 28.33±1.21 mm, which was significantly larger than that of the preoperative mitral valve (25.43±0.84 mm, P＜0.001). The mean peak gradient difference across the prosthetic aortic valve on postoperative echocardiography was 18.17±6.44 mm Hg, which was significantly lower than that of the preoperative aortic valve (82.57±24.48 mm Hg, P＜0.001). The mean peak gradient difference of the postoperative prosthetic mitral valve was 12.73±5.45 mm Hg, which was significantly lower than that of the preoperative mitral valve (19.43±8.97 mm Hg, P=0.003). Conclusion The double annular enlargement technique is safe and effective for reoperation in patients with a history of valve surgery with a small aortic root to obtain both a larger size prosthetic valve for a larger orifice area and stability of the mitral-aortic valve union, resulting in good postoperative hemodynamic characteristics and clinical outcomes.
Acute Stanford type A aortic dissection has the characteristics of acute onset, severe condition and high mortality. Once making a definite diagnosis, surgical treatment is needed as soon as possible. It is difficult for cardiac surgeons to treat the acute aortic dissection involving the aortic sinus, which is an important risk factor for death. Improving the surgical treatment for the aortic sinus can be a key to improving the prognosis. In this review, we will introduce the modified sandwich technique for acute Stanford type A aortic dissection and the prognosis, and summarize the experiences of different modified sandwich techniques. However, there is still no unified standardized technique in aortic root repair, and there is a lack of large studies with long-term follow-up, so it is necessary to further improve the aortic root repair techniques.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and durability of aortic sinoplasty in repairing aortic roots of patients with acute type A aortic dissection.MethodsFrom January 2014 to July 2017, 43 consecutive patients with acute type A aortic dissection underwent aortic sinoplasty to repair aortic root in our institution, including 34 males and 9 females, aged 32-65 (50.1±8.1) years. The perioperative and follow-up data were retrospectively analyzed, and statistical analysis on the preoperative, postoperative and follow-up ultrasound indicators was performed.ResultsThirty-day mortality was 4.7%. Preoperative aortic regurgitation was corrected and false lumen was eliminated immediately after operation in all patients. There was no late death, or aortic root or valve re-intervention and two patients were lost during a follow-up of 18-45 (27.9±6.7) months. There was no residual dissection found. No patients had significant dilation of aortic root. No statistically significant difference was found when comparing the maximum of root diameter and aortic regurgitation grade between at discharge and follow-up.ConclusionAortic sinoplasty for aortic root repair in acute type A aortic dissection is a simple and reliable technique and demonstrates excellent early outcomes.
Abstract： Replacement of the aortic valve and aortic root has been the standard surgical strategy for patients with aortic root aneurysm for many years. Along with the increasing knowledge about the aortic root anatomy and physiology, and complications after aortic valve replacement, the technique of valve-sparing aortic root replacement has developed greatly. We focus on the etiology and classification aortic valve insufficiency, the valve-sparing techniques and clinical outcomes of valve-sparing aortic root replacement in this review.
Objective To analyze the early prognosis of repairing adult aortic insufficiency with the Florida sleeve procedure. Methods The patients with aortic insufficiency who underwent Florida sleeve repair in the Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University between August 2020 and May 2024 were selected. Their general data, perioperative conditions, and echocardiographic data before, during, and after the procedure and at follow-up were analyzed. Results Fifteen patients were included, consisting of 12 males and 3 females, aged 33-71 (53.5±12.4) years. Preoperative echocardiography indicated that there was 1 patient of rheumatic disease, 7 patients of degenerative disease, 4 patients secondary to aortic aneurysm, and 3 patients of bicuspid aortic valve. The severity distribution included 2 patients of severe insufficiency, 4 patients of moderate-to-severe insufficiency, 5 patients of moderate insufficiency, and 4 patients of mild-to-moderate insufficiency. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was (135.0±40.0) minutes, the aortic cross-clamp time was (109.9±38.6) minutes, and the median ICU stay was 1.0 day. No mortality was recorded within 30 days postoperatively. Follow-up echocardiography showed that the valve regurgitation, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, and sinus diameter all achieved the desired outcomes. Conclusion Florida sleeve repair for aortic valve in patients with a sinus diameter less than 50 mm not only effectively improves hemodynamics in adults with aortic insufficiency, but also has the advantages of low surgical risk and rapid postoperative recovery, making it a promising procedure for clinical application.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the data of preoperative aortic root CT angiography (CTA), compare it with two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and investigate the correlation of the two measurements with the actual intraoperative measurement data.MethodsClinical data of 53 patients with aortic valve diseases who underwent aortic valve repair in our hospital from January 2018 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 38 males and 15 females with an average age of 42.9±18.3 years ranging from 10 to 77 years. Preoperative two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and aortic root CTA measurements were collected, including aortic valve annulus (AVA), aortic sinus (Sinus) and sino-tubular junction (STJ). In comparison with the intraoperative measurements during the aortic valve repair surgery, the consistency analysis was performed.ResultsBoth the preoperative echocardiography AVA measurements and the CT AVA measurements were positively correlated with the intraoperative AVA measurements (P<0.001). Compared with the echocardiography AVA data [correlation coefficient (ρ)=0.74, mean squarederror (MSE)=12.78], the CT AVA data were more accurate and consistent with the intraoperative AVA measurements (ρ=0.95, MSE=2.72). CT AVA data had a higher correlation coefficient with the intraoperative measurements, compared to that of the echocardiography AVA data (P<0.001).ConclusionIn comparison with two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography, preoperative morphological evaluation of aortic root CTA is more consistent with the actual intraoperative measurements during aortic valve repair surgery.
This study aims to explore the effect of aortic sinus diameter on aortic valve opening and closing performance in the case of no obvious disease of aortic valve and annulus and continuous dilation of aortic root. A total of 25 three-dimensional aortic root models with different aortic sinus and root diameters were constructed according to the size of clinical surgical guidance. The valve sinus diameter DS is set to 32, 36, 40, 44 and 48 mm, respectively, and the aortic root diameter DA is set to 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 mm, respectively. Through the structural mechanics calculation with the finite element software, the maximum stress, valve orifice area, contact force and other parameters of the model are analyzed to evaluate the valve opening and closing performance under the dilated state. The study found that aortic valve stenosis occurs when the DS = 32 mm, DA = 26, 27 mm and DS = 36 mm, DA = 26 mm. Aortic regurgitation occurs when the DS = 32, 36 and 40 mm, DA = 30 mm and DS = 44, 48 mm, DA = 29, 30 mm. The other 15 models had normal valve movement. The results showed that the size of the aortic sinus affected the opening and closing performance of the aortic valve. The smaller sinus diameter adapted with the larger root diameter and the larger sinus diameter adapted with the smaller root diameter. When the sinus diameter is 40 mm, the mechanical performance of the valve are good and it can well adapt with the relatively large range of aortic root dilation.