[The surgical treatment of aneurysms of the ascending aorta with associated aortic insufficiency. Total replacement with reimplantation of the coronary arteries].

We reviewed our experience with replacement of the ascending aorta and aortic valve with a composite graft and reimplantation of coronary arteries to the tube graft during 8 years interval from April, 1982, to April 1990. 24 patients underwent repair, the mean age was 49.83 years. Annuloaortic ectasia was the most common indication (58.33%), followed by aortic dissection (acute or chronic). Emergency operation was carried out in nine patients with aortic dissection (37.5%) and elective in 15. The mean duration of cardiopulmonary bypass was 118 +/- 4 minutes and of aortic clamping 83.85 +/- 2 minutes. Hospital mortality was 4.17%, reoperation for hemorrhage was 12.5% and perioperative morbidity for other causes was 34.7%. There were one late death. 20 patients were follow-up with a total of 638 patients-months (two patients excluded with insufficient follow-up and one late death). At last follow-up 14 patients were in functional class I. Eight year actuarial survival for the 24 patients was 91%. We believe that replacement of the ascending aorta and aortic valve with a composite graft and coronary arteries reimplantation to the tube graft is more than one satisfactory alternative to supracoronary graft replacement and aortic valve replacement. It offers the advantage of excluding all abnormal aortic tissue, eliminating the risk for later development of complications in the non excluded disease aorta. It supposes the method of choice for patients with anuloaortic-ectasia, aneurysms of the sinuses of Valsalva with aortic insufficiency, and aortic dissection with proximal affectation of coronary arteries and aortic valve.