A simple and innovative repair of an incidentally discovered sinus of valsalva aneurysm during aortic valve replacement

Abstract

The sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is a rare pathological lesion found in around 0.09% of the population. Surgical management is usually indicated for large aneurysms causing hemodynamic compromise or aneurysms that enlarge progressively. Surgical approaches for unruptured aneurysms include patch or primary closure. The article describes our technique for closing the small sinus of a Valsalva aneurysm discovered incidentally during surgery for aortic valve replacement. Interrupted pledgeted sutures placed for fixing the mechanical prosthetic aortic valve (St Judes Medical TM) were passed through the aortic valve annulus and the superior edge of the aneurysm sac, resulting in transverse primary closure of the aneurysm opening in the aortic root.