Abstract
A 79-year-old woman with aortic stenosis due to a calcified small aortic root and severe coronary stenosis (at the left anterior descending artery) underwent aortic valve replacement with a 19mm CarboMedics “Top Hat” supra-annular aortic valve and coronary artery bypass grafting. The postoperative course was uneventful. It was found that by using the CarboMedics supra-annular aortic valve, at least one more large sized valve could be implanted compared to the standard aortic valve. This valve is useful in difficult cases to enlarge the narrow aortic annulus, such as in patients with a severe calcified small aortic root, left ventricular dysfunction or elderly cases. In addition, the operative risk may be decreased and operative time shortened using this valve.
