Clefted bicuspid aortic valve.
We report an unusual case of bicuspid aortic valve in a 67-year-old man who had aortic valve replacement for combined severe aortic stenosis with moderate aortic regurgitation. Both preoperative echocardiography and angiocardiography failed to recognize the bicuspid nature of the aortic valve, which was discovered only at surgical pathology examination. The atypical anatomic findings of the valve consisted of a "cleft-like" appearance of the ventral leaflet formed by the two conjoined cusps together with a fenestrated rudimental raphe.
Institute of Pathology, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy.
Daniela
D
Mancuso
Cristina
C
Basso
Paolo
P
Cardaioli
Gaetano
G
Thiene
D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male