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.

Prognostic implications of preoperative aerobic capacity and exercise oscillatory ventilation after liver transplantation.

Our aim was to determine preoperative aerobic capacity (oxygen uptake [V'O2 ]) and prevalence of exercise oscillatory ventilation (EOV), underlying clinical characteristics of patients with EOV, and significance of reduced aerobic capacity and EOV in predicting mortality after liver transplantation. We prospectively studied 263 patients who underwent elective liver transplantation. Patients were followed up for 1 year. Despite minor impairment of resting cardiopulmonary function, preoperative aerobic capacity was reduced (peak V'O2 : 64 ± 19% predicted). EOV occurred in 10% of patients. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score tended to be higher in patients with EOV compared to patients without, but failed to reach significance (p = 0.09). EOV patients had lower peak V'O2 and higher ventilatory drive. EOV was more frequent in nonsurvivors than in survivors (30% vs. 9%, p = 0.01) and was independently associated with posttransplant all-cause 1-year mortality. Reduced peak V'O2 best predicted the primary composite endpoint defined as 1-year mortality and/or prolonged hospitalization and early in-hospital mortality. Multivariate analysis revealed EOV (χ(2), 3.96; p = 0.04) and V'O2 (χ(2), 4.28; p = 0.04) as independent predictors of mortality and so-called primary composite endpoint, respectively. EOV and reduced peak V'O2 may identify high-risk candidates for liver transplantation, which would motivate a more aggressive treatment when detected.