Standardising cardiac CT-based personalised surgical planning and execution in congenital aortic valvar disease

Congenital aortic valvar disease represents a heterogeneous population with suboptimal surgical repair or replacement outcomes. We assess our approach and short-term outcomes in this population using cardiac CT evaluation for personalised surgical planning and execution. We assessed patients who underwent aortic valvar surgery from February 2022 to August 2024. Pre-surgical evaluation included cardiac CT with quantitative assessment of the leaflet geometry and measures of leaflet coaptation. A standardised approach towards surgical execution guided by this assessment was established and followed. Seventy-three patients underwent surgery at a median age of 26.0 years (interquartile range 19-44), 65.8% males. Forty-eight patients (65.8%) underwent some form of aortic valvar repair, with 22 of these 48 patients undergoing a valve-sparing aortic root replacement. The remaining 25 patients (34.2%) underwent some form of aortic valvar replacement. Mean post-surgical follow-up was 4.2 ± 6.1 months. Moderate or greater aortic regurgitation was present in 45 patients (61.6%) pre-operatively versus 2 patients (2.7%) post-operatively (p-value < 0.001). The peak and mean gradient improved from 33.2 ± 31.3 mmHg and 16.9 ± 10.7 mmHg pre-operatively, to 16.9 mmHg±10.7 mmHg and 9.5 ± 6.4 mmHg post-operatively (p-value < 0.001). The heterogeneity and complexity of the dysfunctional and/or dilated (neo-)aortic root encountered in those presenting for surgery necessitates a methodical, detailed three- and four-dimensional assessment. By applying such an approach, we have aimed to standardise not only the assessment, but also description and surgical execution in this challenging patient population. Excellent short-term results have been achieved, necessitating long-term follow-up to understand the potential benefits towards this personalised approach.