Bench repair of donor aortic valve with minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation.

While the number of people waiting heart transplantation increases, the number of organ donors decreases. This shrinking donor pool has prompted reassessment of donor selection for heart transplantation. Bench repair of a donor aortic valve was performed before minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation. Aortic insufficiency in the structurally normal tricuspid aortic valve was due to annular dilatation and was corrected with subcommissural annular plication. The postoperative period was uneventful. Follow-up at 4.5 years showed good results and no evidence of aortic regurgitation.