Preface

The aortic valve is located at the center of the heart and is the core of the cardiac anatomy. In the history of cardiac surgery, the aortic valve prosthesis was the first target of the cardiac surgery, which was performed by Dr. Hufnagel at Georgetown University, Washington DC, in 1952. Since then, aortic valve surgery has led the field of cardiac surgery. Many prosthetic heart valves have been developed to replace defective valves, and numerous surgical procedures have been created to deal with the complexities of aortic valve surgery.

Aortic valve surgery has developed from a single valve replacement to more complex procedures, such as the Ross procedure or valve sparing surgery. Recently, a transcatheter aortic valve replacement has evolved as well. All aspects regarding of the aortic valve are addressed in this book, including anatomy, physiology, preoperative examination by techniques such as echocardiography, as well as various surgical procedures, operative risk analysis especially in the senile population, and newly emerging technologies. The authors are among the most active cardiac surgeons chosen from all over the world. I believe this book will help clarify daily questions regarding the clinical practice in aortic valve surgery, as well as induce inspiration and new insights into this field.

I would like to thank all the chapter authors who sent us splendid manuscripts albeit their tight schedules. I could not have accomplished editing this book without the help and tremendous support of the staff at INTECH. Finally, I thank my family for encouraging me to proceed with this project.

#### **Noboru Motomura, M.D., Ph.D.**

Associate Professor Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery Director, University of Tokyo Tissue Bank (UTTB) Department of Healthcare Quality Assessment University of Tokyo, Faculty of Medicine Tokyo, Japan

**Part 1** 

**Anatomy and Preoperative Estimation** 
