Ascending aortic aneurysm repair 44 years after Starr-Edwards caged-ball aortic valve replacement

Abstract

We report a case of ascending aortic aneurysm repair and redo aortic valve replacement with a bioprosthesis 44 years after aortic valve replacement with a Starr-Edwards metal caged-ball prosthesis. The patient presented with a moderately stenotic caged-ball valve and a 50-mm ascending aortic aneurysm on a routine follow-up transthoracic echocardiography. We replaced the valve with a bioprosthesis at the time of aortic repair as the patient wished to stop anticoagulation therapy. Intraoperatively, we found that the cloth covering of the cage was nearly completely destroyed.