Aortic Valve replacement, Ascending Aortic replacement, and Coronary Re-Implantation (The process of attaching the vessels feeding both hearts to the newly replaced graft) = Bentall Surgery. This complex surgery, first performed by Hugh Henry Benthall (1920-2012) in 1966, can be performed by preserving the integrity of the sternum (breast bone).

Hugh Henry Bentall, the UK’s first Professor of Cardiac Surgeon, was born in the town of Worthing in 1920. He worked at Bentall Hammersmith Hospital for 30 years, studying at the Faculty of Medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital (London). Bentall, who went to Moscow (Russia) in 1959 while performing General Surgery, had the chance to perform heart surgery there for the first time and watched 200 heart surgeries. After returning to his country, he performed his first heart hole surgery in England. This surgery was mentioned in a TV series called “Your Life is in Their Hands” on the BBC. In 1966, he performs the operation named after him (Bentall Procedure) on a patient with Marfan Syndrome. Here, the Ascending Aorta, Aortic Root, and Aortic Valve are replaced at once, and the vessels feeding the heart are first removed from the enlarged aortic vessel and sutured to the new artificial vessel. This surgery has been widely used in cardiac surgery since then.

As it is seen in the cover image, Bentall surgery can now be performed through very small incisions (3.2 cm). Cardiac Surgery, which is developing day by day, is progressing both by preserving the bone integrity of the patients and with excellent cosmetic results. The results of these surgeries performed with Femoral Cannulation and Mini-Sternotomy technique are at a level to compete with standard (open) surgery.