A Unique Hybrid Approach to Complex Re-Do Aortic Root Surgery.

BACKGROUND

We present the case of a 23-year-old male with ventriculo-aortic dehiscence and a retrosternal false aneurysm communicating to the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) and ascending aorta. His history included aortic valve replacement (AVR) and mitral valve (MV) repair remotely, followed by two further operations for endocarditis and aortic root abscess.

METHODS

The risk associated with the redo surgery required detailed planning and innovative techniques to allow it to be performed safely. These included femoral cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass, venting the left ventricular apex via a small left anterior thoracotomy, use of a CODA (COOK Medical, Bloomington USA) balloon to occlude the distal ascending aorta (placed via left brachial artery) and finally, the use of a PROPLEGE (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, USA) retrograde cardioplegia cannula (placed via right internal jugular vein).