CT-evaluation of Coronary Ostia Height After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

Overview

The goal of this interventional, single-center study is to demonstrate if there is a change in the coronary ostia height after surgical aortic valve replacement and if it depends on the type of prosthesis or surgical technique used. The study involves patients undergoing elective surgical aortic valve replacement with a bioprosthesis. Participants enrolled will undergo a CT scan before and after surgery (at least 90 days after surgery) to analyze coronary ostia height.

Aortic valve stenosis is the most frequent heart valve disease in the adult population. The development of biological prostheses with slower valve degeneration and easier antithrombotic management and changes in the indications for the treatment of this valve disease, have allowed a reduction in the age in which such prostheses are implanted thus leading to a greater use of biological prostheses rather than mechanical ones. In the next few years this will cause a higher rate of structural valve degeneration resulting in stenosis and/or insufficiency. In patients considered to be at high surgical risk, the transcatheter implantation of a valve-in-valve (VIV) represents a valid alternative to standard surgery, except for coronary obstruction which appears more frequent in VIV procedures, especially in patients receiving VIV after surgical aortic valve replacement. The risk factors mainly associated with this complication are represented by the type of implanted prostheses and the anatomical relationship between the coronary ostia and the expected final position of the cusps of the bioprostheses transcatheter-implanted.Recent studies have demonstrated how coronary height seems to be significantly reduced in case of surgical aortic valve replacement with a supra-annular technique, as occurs in our center. Aim of this interventional, single-center study is to demonstrate whether there is a change in the coronary ostia height after surgical aortic valve replacement and whether it possibly depends on the type of prosthesis. All patients undergoing elective aortic valve replacement surgery at our institution who meet the inclusion criteria for the study will be contacted to perform a postoperative CT scan at least 90 days after surgery.