Materials and Methods
From July 2004 to December 2017, three hundred and nine consecutive patients referred for elective surgery for aortic valve disease at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. Approval of the local Ethics Committee was obtained and individual patient consent was waived. Inclusion criteria were age≥18y,the maximal diameters of ascending aorta<45mm,BAV or TAV were diagnosed by preoperative echocardiography and confirmed by intraoperative direct inspection. Exclusions were previous history of cardiac surgery, acute and chronic aortic dissections, concomitant replacement of the proximal aorta, systemic syndromes (i.e., Marfan, Loeys-Dietz, Ehler-Danlos, Turner).
After exclusions, a total of 165 patients were included in the study. Standard demographic, clinical, and echocardiographic data were collected from the database and medical records. The diameters of aortic root and ascending aortic were determined from preoperative and the most recent echocardiograms. Long term follow-up was obtained by telephone interviews to the patients and/or their family members and by reviewing the resent outpatient medical files. The most recent echocardiograms were reviewed and compared with preoperative data for each patient, when available. Patients were considered lost to follow-up if their phone numbers were no longer valid, and their postal addresses were modified.