Surgery for aortic valve endocarditis.

From March 1994 to March 1997, 36 patients with aortic valve endocarditis were managed surgically. Of these, 30 patients had native valve endocarditis and six had prosthetic valve endocarditis. In patients with native valve endocarditis, surgical procedures included aortic valve repair (n=6), homograft aortic valve replacement (n=9), Ross procedure (n=5) and prosthetic aortic valve replacement (n=10). There were three early and two late deaths in this group. In patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis, aortic valve replacement with a homograft was performed in all. Active infection and prosthetic valve endocarditis were the most important predictors of early mortality. The availability of a homograft valve provides an alternative to prosthetic valve replacement in patients with aortic valve endocarditis.