It's Topic Tuesday

Goodmorning everyone! We hope your week has been getting off to a great start so far.

Today we will be going over the Bentall procedure.

The Bentall procedure is a surgery that is used to treat aortic root abnormalities that involve the ascending aorta and aortic valve. This technique was created to treat patients with aortic root aneurysms and then modified in several aspects to treat other issues of the aorta. The Bentall procedure generally involves the insertion of a mechanical valve to replace the aortic valve (thus requiring long-life anticoagulation) and also fix the aortic root. The main benefit of the Bentall procedure is that it can take care of an aneurysm and malfunctioning valve all at once. The surgery provides a long-term solution. Below is a representative picture of the Bentall procedure.

Kaiser Permanente

More specifically, the Bentall procedure may be needed for patients with

aortic regurgitation (when the aortic valve doesn’t close properly and causes back flow of blood each time the heart pumps), aortic stenosis (aortic valve is stiff and doesn't open properly), Marfan’s syndrome (a disease from birth that weakens the thickness of the aorta’s wall), aortic aneurysm (widening of the aorta), or aortic dissection (when the inner layer of the aorta splits apart from the other layers).

As with any surgery, there are risks associated with a Bentall procedure. Common risks include bleeding, arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms), short term memory problems, blurred vision and difficulty concentrating, infection, heart attack and stroke, blood clotting, and death.

If you are at risk or have an aortic root abnormality with the aortic valve or ascending aorta, please contact your doctor.

And this is what we have for today's session. Join us back here next week and thanks for tuning in. We hope you have a great rest of your week.

Stay healthy, Duc