P24: MANAGEMENT OF RHEUMATIC VALVE DISEASE OF THE AORTIC VALVE USING THE OZAKI PROCEDURE WITH AUTOLOGOUS PERICARDIUM

Abstract Case-Study A 15-year-old boy was referred to our tertiary centre from his local paediatric services with a background of rheumatic fever, severe aortic regurgitation (AR) and mild to moderate mitral regurgitation. He had a history of angina and dyspnoea on exertion, a 2/6 ejection systolic murmur and 2/4 end diastolic murmur. Transthoracic echocardiography showed severe aortic valve insufficiency (with flow reversal seen in the descending aorta and an LV end diastolic volume of 173 ml/m2) and trivial pulmonary valve regurgitation. Autograft failure following the favoured Ross procedure deemed the patient as a candidate for an Ozaki procedure. Autologous pericardium was used to replace the diseased aortic valve. Intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography showed a deficient left coronary cusp leaflet and a retracted right coronary cusp leaflet. The patient was under cardiopulmonary bypass for 124 minutes and on cross-clamping for 99 minutes with no intraoperative complications. Histological examination of the aortic valve leaflets showed neovascularisation, myxoid changes and disarray of the fibrous stroma. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. The postoperative echocardiogram showed trivial AR, end diastolic volume 217ml, end systolic volume 12 ml and 40% ejection fraction. There was full resolution of the dyspnoea, angina and diastolic murmur on follow-up 4-months postoperatively as supported by healthy valve function on echocardiography. This case highlights that in those of risk of multiple valve pathology, such as in rheumatic valve disease, an Ozaki procedure using autologous pericardium is a viable surgical option for paediatric aortic valve repair with good outcomes. Take-home message In cases of systemic conditions affecting the heart valves where there is multiple valve pathology and risk of autograft failure, such as rheumatic valve disease, the use of autologous pericardium to replace these valves has shown to be a viable option in this paediatric case.