title: Aortic root replacement with composite valve graft.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Composite valve graft replacement is currently the treatment of choice for a wide variety of lesions of the aortic root and the ascending aorta. In this study we report our experience with aortic root replacement using a composite graft.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 1978 and May 2001, 274 patients (79.6% male and 20.4% female) with a mean age of 53.5 years underwent composite graft replacement of the aortic root. One hundred sixty-one patients (70.8%) had annuloaortic ectasia and 46 (16.8%) aortic dissection. The classic Bentall technique was used in 94 patients (34.3%), the "button technique" in 172 patients (62.8%), and the Cabrol technique in 8 patients (2.9%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The early mortality rate was 6.9% (19 of 274 patients). Cardiopulmonary bypass time longer than 180 minutes and associated coronary artery bypass grafting were found to be independent risk factors of early mortality. The actuarial survival rate was 77.7% at 5 years and 63% at 10 years. The independent risk factors for late mortality were coronary artery disease, chronic renal failure, and postoperative dialysis. The actuarial freedom from reoperation on the remaining aorta was higher among patients without Marfan syndrome (94.6% versus 79.6% at 10 years, p = 0.008).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Composite valve graft replacement can be performed with low hospital mortality and morbidity. The button technique offers some advantages and should be used whenever possible. In case of acute aortic dissection root replacement is usually not necessary. Marfan patients should be treated with early root replacement before dissection occurs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. dpacini@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pacini
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ranocchi
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Angeli
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Settepani
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pagliaro
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin-Suarez
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Bartolomeo
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pierangeli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011336:Probability; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome