It's Topic Tuesday!
- siths375
- Nov 19, 2024
- 2 min read
I hope you all had an AMAZING start to your weeks. Today I wanted to take some time to review aortic root surgery together.
If you recall from our blog posts a few weeks ago, the aortic root is the part of the aorta that is closest to the heart base itself and is the part that is most susceptible to the high pressure of blood pumping out the heart.
When an aneurysm develops in the aortic root, your doctor may either recommend you undergo surgical evaluation or recommend routine imaging with tests such as CAT scan.
The decision over WHEN to undergo surgery to repair an aortic root aneurysm will depend on several factors including your age, past medical history, family history, whether or not you have connective tissue disorders, and of course the actual size of the aneurysm itself!
In general, for a healthy adult who has no personal or family history of aortic dissection or connective tissue disorder, surgery may be recommended once a root aneurysm reaches around 5 to 5.5 centimeters.
The following article from the Cleveland Clinic summarizes a lot of great details about aortic root surgery https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22821-aortic-root-replacement
Briefly, there are two main categories of aortic root surgery: Aortic Root Replacement (Bentall) and Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Replacement (Yacoub / David procedure).
The Bentall procedure will replace your entire aortic root, INCLUDING the aortic valve. Depending on your age and risk factors, your doctor may recommend either a new mechanical aortic valve (which needs blood thinners) or a bio-prosthetic valve (which is less durable than the mechanical valve but will not need you to take blood thinners).
Alternatively, valve-sparing aortic root replacement (VSARR) includes either the Yacoub or the David procedure and involves replacement of the diseases aorta while keeping your aortic valve in place. The benefits of this is that you get to keep your natural aortic valve without facing any of the problems associated with prosthetic valves (blood thinners, valve deterioration, etc).
However, VSARRs are very technically challenging operations and may not be recommended in numerous situations, such as if your valve is too diseased to be preserved.
Of course, when reviewing your surgical options with your medical team ask questions! Find out why they recommend which type of surgery or valve replacement and why. Ask them about their experience performing these types of surgeries. As we know well: there is no one size fits all with the Aorta! So be sure to find a plan that works best for you.
And that's it for this week! Be sure to check out the article and let us know what topics or questions you would like covered in future blog posts. Until then, stay happy. Stay healthy. Stay good looking. And most importantly, stay Thinking Aorta!
With regards,
AA
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