Summary

Associated Publications

Aicher & Schäfers. Bicuspidization of the regurgitant unicuspid aortic valve. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2010. Link

Burkhart HM, Nakamura Y, Mir A, Badhwar V, Rankin JS. Upsized ring annuloplasty an autologous leaflet augmentation: a new paradigm for pediatric aortic valve repair. JTCVS Techniques 2024;27:135-137.

James TW, Hunter Mehaffey JH, Badhwar V, Rankin J S. Autologous leaflet reconstruction for aortic valve endocarditis. JTCVS Tech 2025, in-press.

James TW, Mehaffey JH, Wei LM, Voeller RK, Badhwar V, Rankin JS. Repair of calcified bicuspid aortic valves using living autologous aortic wall leaflets. JTCVS Tech 2024;25:48-51.

Konstantinov IE, et al. Aortic valve repair in a low-birth-weight neonate with poor ventricular function: staged tricuspidization of the unicuspid valve. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2023. Link

Konstantinov IE, et al. Bicuspid aortic valve repair with autologous aortic wall patches in an adolescent with acute severe regurgitation after balloon dilatation. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2024. Link

Konstantinov IE, et al. Symmetrical bicuspidization of the aortic valve in a child. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2024. Link

Konstantinov IE, et al. Truncal valve repair in an adolescent with severe annular dilatation. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2023. Link

Konstantinov IE, et al. Unicuspid aortic valve repair in a neonate. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2024. Link

Lausberg & Schäfers. Valve-sparing aortic replacement: Root remodeling. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2006. Link

Myers JL, Clark JB, James TW, Downs E, Hasan SM, Binford RS, McNeil JD, Rodriquez VM, Mascio CE, Wei LM, Badhwar V, Rankin JS. Use of aortic wall patches as leaflet replacement material during aortic valve repair. JTCVS Techniques 2023;19:30-37.

Nissen AP, Levack MM, Badhwar V, Rankin JS, Keeling WB. Aortic valve repair for severe commissural leaflet defects using aortic wall patches. Ann Thorac Surg Short Reports, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atssr.2025.01.020

Schäfers. Tricuspidization of the quadricuspid aortic valve. Multimed Man Cardiothorac Surg 2010. Link

Guest Speakers

Prof. Dr. Roberto Lorusso graduated in 1987 as medical doctor at the University of Milan, Italy, and he obtained his degree of cardiovascular surgeon in 1993. PhD research and degree in 1998 at the Maastricht University on surgical alternatives to heart transplantation in dilated cardiomyopathy. EACTS Young Investigator’s Award in 1995, Director of the EACTS School from 2007 to 2012, founder of the EACTS Young Membership and Committee, Editor-in-Chief of the EACTS Multimedia Manual of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Deputy Director of the Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Department of the Maastricht University Medical Centre. Founder and Past-President of EuroELSO, Past-Member of the ELSO Executive Board, and Chair-Elect of the Cardiovascular Surgery Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology. His areas of interest are mechanical circulatory support, cardiac failure and arrest, valve and coronary surgery, education and training, pre-clinical and clinical research.

Professor Daniel Zimpfer is an adult and pediatric cardiac surgeon at the Department for Cardiac Surgery and the Pediatric Heart Center Medical University of Vienna. He completed his undergraduate studies and earned his medical degree at the University of Vienna. In addition, he holds a Master from the Business University Vienna. Dr Zimpfer completed his residency at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and subsequently joined the faculty there. Dr Zimpfer is specialized in treatment of congenital heart disease, aortic surgery, heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. In addition, he is a board-certified vascular surgeon. In 2007 Dr Zimpfer completed his “Habilitation” (Austrian post-doctoral university teaching qualification) and was subsequently Assistant and Associate Professor at the Medical University Vienna. Subsequently, he was appointed full Professor of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the Medical University Vienna.

Dr. Zimpfer currently serves as the Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery/Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Director of Mechanical Circulatory support at the Division of Cardiac Surgery and the Pediatric Heart Center Vienna. Dr Zimpfer is the head of two academic research groups. His main areas of current clinical and academic research are in the field of mechanical circulatory support, myocardial recovery and valve surgery for congenital heart disease. Dr. Zimpfer is primary investigator of numerous studies and author of more than 200 scientific publications, multiple book chapters and serves in various functions in international professional societies (EACTS, ISHLT, AATS and others). He also serves on the editorial board of a number of journals and has been Coauthor on recent guideline papers.

Hans‑Joachim Schäfers received his medical degree from the University of Essen, Germany.  He was awarded the Research Award for Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Giessen in 1991 and the Presidential Award of the International College of Chest Physicians in 1993.  Hans‑Joachim is currently the Director of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Hospitals of Saarland in Homburg, Germany. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and author/co-author/editor of 4 books and more than 390 scientific publications.

Emmanuel Lansac is a valve specialist in cardiac surgery, in the Department of Cardiac Pathology of the Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris. He did his surgical training in Paris Hospital and learned mitral valve repair with Professor A Carpentier and Professor C Acar. In 2000, he did his PhD in dynamic anatomy of the aortic valve complex with Professor Duran at The International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation, USA. Since then he developed a standardised and physiological approach to aortic valve repair for aortic root aneurysms and/or isolated aortic insufficiency, based on a new expansible aortic ring annuloplasty. Emmanuel is the main investigator of the prospective multicentric CAVIAAR trial (Conservative Aortic Valve surgery for aortic Insufficiency and Aneurysm of the Aortic Root) comparing this approach with the mechanical Bentall procedure. As chairman of the aortic valve repair group from the Heart Valve Society, he gathered a large international consortium of physicians and scientists involved in dystrophic aortic insufficiency and root aneurysm management who initiated the international AVIATOR registry. Their goal is to combine forces and share experience to address key epidemiological issues and raise better medical evidence for surgical indications as well as the place of repair versus replacement in aortic valve surgery.

Igor Konstantinov is a professor at the University of Melbourne, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Royal Children’s Hospital, and a director at Melbourne Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Regenerative Medicine.