Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Reconstruction

The aortic valve-sparing root reconstruction procedure remains an ideal concept, but it has not yet become an ideal operation. There is still great variation and evolution in techniques, which mirrors the increasing understanding of the aortic root's functional anatomy and the disease processes that affect it. These operations remain complex, and the surgeons who perform them well are often times best armed with an experienced eye for what looks right more than a mathematical model that can predetermine who will do well, with what repair type and with what percentage chance of long-term success. Because of this, it will likely still be a while before these operations are more routinely used by a broader group of surgeons, as compared with the very reproducible Bentall and De Bono repair.