Aortic valve repair for adult congenital heart disease - A 22-year experience

Background-Aortic valve-preserving procedures have resulted in excellent ou tcomes in selected patients, particularly those with normal aortic valve le aflets and dilated aortic roots. However, several congenital heart lesions are associated with abnormal aortic valve leaflets. The long-term results o f aortic valve repair for these lesions are not well defined. Methods and Results-We reviewed the clinical records of 54 adult (age >18 y ears) patients who underwent repair of congenital abnormalities of the aort ic valve between 1976 and September 1999. Follow-up data were available on 52 (96%) patients (mean 50+/-67 months, range 1 to 266). Patients underwent repair at a mean age of 34+/-14 years with associated diagnoses of subaort ic stenosis (n=10), ventricular septal defect with prolapsing aortic valve (n=17), bicuspid aortic valve (n=23), sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (n=10), an d bacterial endocarditis (n=2), There was 1 operative death (1.9%) and 3 la te deaths. Survival at 5 and 10 years was 98+/-2% and 74+/-12%, respectivel y. Freedom from reoperation was 74+/-9% and 51+/-15% at 5 and 10 years, res pectively. The presence of a ventricular septal defect predicted failure of valve repair (59% versus 22%, P=0.01). A bicuspid aortic valve, subaortic stenosis, or the requirement for mitral valve surgery did not affect outcom es. Conclusions-Aortic valve repair in adult patients with congenital heart dis ease can be performed with minimal morbidity and mortality rates. The mediu m-term results of repair are acceptable, regardless of valvular or associat ed pathology. However, only 31 patients (57%) demonstrated long-term compet ence of the aortic valve, suggesting that most adult patients with congenit al aortic valve disease will eventually require aortic valve replacement.