prolapse and relevant regurgitation afterward if uncorrected. thus an aortic valve repair procedure will frequently be necessary according to the principles of tricuspid or bicuspid aortic valve repair. postoperative treatment contrary to valve replacement with mechanical prostheses inhibition of the blood clotting system (anticoagulation) is not necessary after aortic valve repair. blood-thinning may only be necessary if atrial fibrillation occurs or persists in order to prevent blood clot formation in the left atrium. following aortic valve replacement, prophylactic administration of antibiotics is recommended for interventions involving mouth and throat (e.g. dental surgery). it is unclear whether this is also necessary after aortic valve repair. history first attempts at aortic valve repair were undertaken even before heart valve prostheses were developed. in 1912 the french surgeon theodore tuffier widened a stenotic (narrowed) aortic valve. the colleagues of dwight harken reported in 1958 on their experience with aortic valve repair for aortic regurgitation by narrowing the annulus of the aortic valve. in those times, both surgeons and cardiologists had minimal information on the exact nature and severity of dysfunction of the aortic valve. this changed with the development of echocardiography by inge edler and carl hellmuth hertz in the early 1950s. nonetheless, the development of heart valve prostheses made replacement the standard approach because of its reproducibility. the first ball-cage valve was implanted in 1961 by the american surgeons albert starr and lowell edwards, and in the next decades many mechanical and biological prostheses were developed and used. the positive results with the repair of the mitral valve stimulated surgeons in the 1980s and 1990s to develop surgical techniques that could be applied for the different causes of aortic regurgitation. stepwise improvements were introduced in the subsequent years; today many regurgitant aortic valves can be treated by repair.