Patient Data
Clinical, operative, and outcome data were collected retrospectively for all consecutive patients with aortic root replacement for active IE with aortic root abscess between 2007 and 2017. All patients underwent surgery at a single institution (Mount Sinai Hospital, NY) by a single surgeon (PES) or by integrated residents/conventional fellows (postgraduate year 5 to 8) or junior attending surgeons within 2 years of their graduation from the training program under the supervision of the senior surgeon. This study was approved by the Program for Protection of Human Subjects at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The approval included a waiver of informed consent.