[Annulo-aortic ectasia].

On the basis of a literature review and the study of 18 cases, the authors examine annuloaortic ectasia, which involves dilatation of the fibrous ring of the heart at the aortic orifice, marked by aortic regurgitation and dystrophic aneurysm of the ascending aorta. The authors noted a predominantly muscular disorder (14 males, 4 females) often detected from an assessment of aortic regurgitation without clinical, radiologic or specific electrical features. The value of echocardiography and Doppler echocardiography is clearly apparent from the diagnosis of the disease, monitoring of progress, selection of patients for invasive pre-operative explorations and post-operative surveillance. The developing gravity of this disease is stressed, rapid repercussions in the left ventricle intervening more than complications due to ectasia itself. This indicates the urgency of complete replacement of the whole ascending aorta and of the aortic valve with reimplantation of coronary arteries as in the Bentall or Bentall-Cabrol surgical intervention, seven cases of which have been reported with satisfactory results.