Outcomes after operations for bicuspid aortic valve disease in the pediatric population.

Background: Outcomes after operations for bicuspid aortic valve disease in pediatric patients were determined.

Methods: Between 1977 and 2011, 146 consecutive patients underwent surgical repair of bicuspid aortic valve. Median age at operation was 207 days (range, 5 days to 16 years). Indication for surgery was stenosis in 113, insufficiency in 25, and both in 8. Valve debridement was done in 76 patients, and complex repairs in 70, including 61 who required addition of pericardial patches, consisting of the creation of a neocommissure in 55, cusp extension in 33, and a perforation repair in 6. The valve was made tricuspid in 38 patients (29 cusp extensions).

Results: Twenty-year survival was 88% (95% confidence interval, 73% to 95%). After a mean follow-up of 8 ± 7 years, 35 patients needed a reintervention. Freedom from reintervention at 18 years was 43% (95% confidence interval, 28% to 56%). At the latest follow-up, an additional 13 patients without reoperation had moderate or severe stenosis, and 17 had moderate regurgitation. Seventy-eight patients had an event-free long-term outcome (no reintervention, stenosis, or regurgitation). The only independent predictive factors of an event-free outcome were not having addition of patch material at repair (hazard ratio, 12; p = 0.05) and shorter bypass time (HR, 1.01; p = 0.023). The 10-year freedom from any significant event was 60% (95% confidence interval, 46% to 71%) for those without use of patch material, whereas nearly all those with a patch repair had an adverse event at that time.

Conclusions: Outcomes after surgical repair of bicuspid aortic valves in the pediatric population are excellent, especially if the repair can be performed without the addition of patches. Primary repair should be offered because long-lasting results can be achieved if the disease can be relieved by simple procedures.