Ross procedure is a safe treatment option for aortic valve endocarditis: Long-term follow-up of 42 patients.

BACKGROUND: Aortic root replacement with a pulmonary autograft (Ross procedure) can be performed as a treatment of aortic valve endocarditis, avoiding prosthetic valve implantation in septic context. We sought to assess long-term outcomes of the Ross procedure in this indication. METHODS: From April 1992 to March 2009, the intervention was performed in 42 patients (mean age 34 ± 8 years) suffering from an active or ancient aortic valve endocarditis. 36% of the patients had extensive perivalvular involvement, and surgery was urgent in 18 patients (43%). We performed a prospective clinical and echocardiographic follow-up of this population. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 10 years (4-21 years). Overall survival at 10 and 15 years was respectively 87 ± 5% and 81 ± 8%. Perioperative mortality was 4.7% (2 patients) and no late cardiac death was reported. Eight patients (19%) underwent repeat surgery for autograft and/or homograft dysfunction at a median time of 8.4 years (3 months-18 years). Rate of recurrent endocarditis was low (7%-3 patients), including 1 in a context of persistent intravenous drug abuse. Clinical follow-up showed good functional status for all patients with NYHA ≤ II, and less than 25% of patients requiring cardiovascular medication. Late echocardiographic follow-up demonstrated well-functioning autograft and homograft, with only one severe aortic regurgitation, and one significant increase in pulmonary mean gradient. CONCLUSION: The Ross procedure in aortic valve endocarditis is an interesting alternative to prosthetic valvular replacement in a selected population, with a high rate of survival free from any cardiovascular event or medication requirement.

[Three-dimensional echography: cardiovascular applications]. / Echographie tridimensionnelle: applications cardio-vasculaires.

Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography is currently used in a standard echocardiographic examination. Volume-rendered images better identify and locate anatomic structures and improve our comprehensive approach to various heart diseases. The assessment of mitral valve disease and congenital cardiopathies and the measurement of left ventricular mass, volume, and ejection fraction are the three main applications of three-dimensional echocardiography. Three-dimensional vascular imaging is an emerging and promising application of three-dimensional echography. The near future of three-dimensional echography requires the integration of all modalities of conventional echography in three dimensional probes, a higher image resolution compared to the current situation, as well as the development of real-time three-dimensional probes dedicated to transesophageal cardiac or vascular examination.