Ultrasonic Decalcification of Calcified Cardiac Valves and Annuli

Atilla KAYIHAN, Mehmet ÜNAL, Coşkun PINAR, İlhan SANİSOĞLU, Cüneyt KONURAL, Sevim CANİK, E. Ergin EREN

İstanbul Göğüs Kalp ve Damar Cerrahisi Araştırma Hastanesi

Heavily calcified annuli increase the incidence of complications after prosthetic valve replacement; heart block, separation of the aorta or the A-V groove, paravalvuler leak and hemolysis. An ultrasonic surgical sucker has been developed to remove calcific deposits. In Istanbul Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center in 1992, the ultrasonic surgical sucker has been used on the 15 patients undergoing open heart surgery because of heavily calfied valve and annuli.

11 prosthetic aortic valve and 4 mitral valves have been replaced after ultrosonic debridement of calcified annuli. Six months after operation, all the patients were followed up by echo study. No paravalvular leak and valve related complications were observed. In our experience, ultrasonic debridement of the annulus is a superior adjunctive method to traditional methods of debridement. We advocate the use of ultrasonic debridement as an adjunctive tool in calcified valve replacement.

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