1999 Volume 60 Issue 5 Pages 1238-1240
A 58-year-old male presented with a diastolic heart murmur was found to have a severe aortic regurgitation on cardiac evaluation. He was transferred to our department, and underwent an aortic valve replacement. During the operation, the aortic valve was recognized quadricuspid, including three equal cusps and one smaller accessory cusp. The finding was consistent with Hurwitz type b quadricuspid aortic valve. It was etiologically thought that the relatively small cusp decreased in size with the aging to produce some space, causing aortic regurgitation. Aortic valve was replaced with Carbomedics 23mm prosthetic valve uneventfully. Thirty-five reported cases are reviewed in terms of clinical features and surgical therapy.