PORCINE STENTLESS AORTIC HEART-VALVE SUBSTITUTE MID-FORM CLINICAL FOLLOW-UP

From May 1990 to January 1994, 120 patients underwent aortic valve rep lacement with the use of the Biocor porcine aortic stentless heart val ve (BPASHV). There were 83 male and 3 female patients. The age ranged from 11 seventy-six (76) years with a mean of 36. Eighty-five patients were under 40 years of age. Sixty-four patients underwent their first aortic valve replacement due to rheumatic heart disease, 30 because o f prosthetic valve failure and of those: 20 were due to primary tissue failure and in 10 due to prosthetic endocarditis, native aortic bicus pid valve in 11 and senile calcificant aortic valve disease in four. T hirty-three patients had aortic annular related pathology. Their preop erative functional class revealed 61 patients in class III and 59 in c lass IV. The longest follow-up in this aortic group was 42 months with a mean of 26. The surgical technique used rendered consistent and rep roducible results. There was a hospital mortality of six patients (5%) . The mortality was not valve related. The hospital morbidity in 14 re vealed full recovery of all patients. There were four late reoperation s, in two due to recurrent endocarditis and in the last two because of paravalvar leak. There was a late mortality of four patients (non val ve related). The follow-up of these patients revealed full competent a ortic stentless valve in 97 patients and only minor jet in nine. Most patients are in functional class I and II. The Aortic stentless concep t has proven to be outstanding with the use of the Biocor Aortic stent less valve throughout the current follow-up. Although the test of time is required to assess its long term behavior, the confidence gained w ith the procedure in view of the good clinical results has favored its use for the aortic position.