Aortic root abscess complicating a unicuspid aortic valve in a 15-year-old boy: A case report on surgical management

ABSTRACT

Aortic root abscess, a dreaded and life-threatening complication of infective endocarditis (IE), is often challenging to deal with, both medically and surgically. If not treated in time, it can lead to cardiac fistula formation, rupture into a cardiac chamber, aneurysm formation or heart block, and arrhythmias. It is also a lesion that requires prompt recognition and early/urgent surgical intervention to minimize complications, morbidity, and mortality and improve outcomes. We present the challenging case of a 15-year-old boy, diagnosed with a unicuspid aortic valve during infancy, with progressively severe aortic stenosis, complicated by IE and aortic root abscess and the surgical decision-making and challenges encountered in his case.