title: Aortoscopy: a less invasive intraoperative method to assess the aortic valve.
abstract: Surgical management of mild aortic stenosis coexisting with severe coronary artery disease remains controversial. Direct examination of the aortic root under these circumstances may be decisive. At present, intraoperative assessment of the aortic valve requires an aortic incision which, in itself, may increase the risk of intraoperative complications, particularly when this portion of the aorta is needed to construct proximal graft anastomoses. We present a simple aortoscopic method for direct intraoperative assessment of the aortic valve while performing coronary bypass grafting that obviates the need for aortic incisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange, USA. etovarmd@aol.com
authors.forename: Eduardo A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Tovar
authors.forename: Jon R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Yonghun C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Ramesh H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Rathod
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borsari
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008297:Male