Heterotransplantation of the Aortic Valve Into the Descending Aorta

HOMOLOGOUS transplantation of the aortic valve into the descending aorta has been successfully performed experimentally and clinically.1,2Some patients in whom this operation has been done are still alive after many years. Homologous transplantation of the aortic valve into the subcoronary position has also been successfully carried out in a moderately large number of patients with good results up to more than four years postoperatively.3,4The acquisition of suitable numbers of homologous aortic valves for transplantation could present a problem if this procedure replaced prosthetic replacement as the most favored operation for aortic valve disease. More than 12,000 Starr-Edwards aortic prostheses have been sold by Edwards Laboratories, Inc.; this figure gives an indication of the number of aortic valve operations that have been done. If it could be shown that heterologous valves could be tolerated indefinitely with adequate function, then some of the disadvantages of prostheses might be