Over 20 years experience with aortic homograft in aortic valve replacement during acute infective endocarditis

OBJECTIVES: Despite the controversy, the aortic homograft is supposedly the best option in acute infective endocarditis (AIE), due to its resistance to reinfection. However, the technical complexity and the risk of structural deterioration over time have limited its utilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term results of aortic homograft for the treatment of infective endocarditis in our institution with particular attention to predictors of survival and homograft reoperation. METHODS: The cohort includes 112 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with an aortic homograft for AIE between January 1990 and December 2014. RESULTS: Fifteen patients (13.4%) died during the first 30 days after the operation. Two patients were lost to follow-up after discharge from the hospital; therefore, 95 patients were available for long-term analysis. The median duration of follow-up was 7.8 years (IQR 4.7-17.6). Five patients (5.3%) suffered a recurrence of infective endocarditis (1 relapse and 4 new episodes). Sixteen patients (16.8%) were reoperated for structural valve degeneration (SVD; n = 14, 87.5%) or for infection recurrence (n = 2, 12.5%). Freedom from homograft reoperation for infective endocarditis or structural homograft degeneration at 10 and 15 years postoperatively was 86.3 +/- 5.5 and 47.3 +/- 11.0%, respectively. For patients requiring homograft reoperation, the median interval to reintervention was 11.6 years (IQR 8.3-14.5). Long-term survival was 63.6% (95% CI 52.4-72.8%) and 53.8% (95% CI 40.6-65.3%) at 10 and 15 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of aortic homograft in acute aortic valve endocarditis is associated with a remarkably low risk of relapsing infection and very acceptable long-term survival. The risk of reoperation due to SVD is significant after one decade especially in young patients. The aortic homograft seems to be ideally suited for reconstruction of the aortic valve and cardiac structures damaged by the infective process especially in early surgery.