Supravalvular aortic stenosis. Clinical and pathologic observations in six patients.

Supravalvular aortic stenosis with a mean pressure gradient of 101 mm Hg was encountered in six patients aged 1 1/2 to 12 years. Three patients had Williams syndrome. In two other patients the stenosis was familial. The angiographic/anatomic subtype of deformity was hourglass in four patients, diffuse in one, and membranous in one. Four patients are alive following successful surgical repair; the other two died without surgery. Microscopically, disorganized medial elements with fibrotic intima sometimes containing lacunae were observed in five cases; the one other had valvelike tissue only. Ultrastructurally, thick irregular elastic fibers, abundant swirling collagen, hypertrophied smooth-muscle cells, and scant ground substance characterized the medial tissue defect. Although hemodynamics during intrauterine development may predispose to localization of the stenosis to the supra-aortic valvar region, the cause for the mural dysplasia remains uncertain.