An alternative surgical approach for aortic infective endocarditis: vegetectomy

We describe a case of successful vegetectomy of the aortic valves for early infective endocarditis. An aortic vegetectomy was performed as an alternative to valve replacement for a 54-year-old man with three vegetations and mild regurgitation in aortic valve due to infective endocarditis. Postoperative clinical course was without signs of recurrent infection after follow-up of 19 months, and transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated aortic valve competence. We would suggest that vegetectomy with valve sparing may be a viable option in the context of early infective endocarditis involved aortic valve in selected patients.