Surgical treatment of bicuspid aortic valve disease: Knowledge gaps and research perspectives

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Supplemental material is available online.Sempre la praticadeveessereedificata sopra la bonateorica. [Practice must always be founded on soundtheory.]—Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519; providedthe firstdepiction of abicuspid aorticvalve).Research on bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) and associatedconditions is increasing exponentially. A major part of thecurrent knowledge on BAV is derived from investigationscarried out in the clinical setting, especially the surgicalsetting, as a consequence of the epidemiologic and surgicalimportance of its valvular and vascular complications. Forexample, most of the stenotic valves explanted at the timeof aortic valve replacement are congenitally malformed.