EVOLVING EXPERIENCE WITH CRYOPRESERVED MITRAL-VALVE ALLOGRAFTS

Allograft valves have been used for aortic valve replacement (AVR) for 35 years with excellent results. Early attempts at mitral valve repla cement (MVR) with mitral valve allograft were unsuccessful mainly due to technical issues of measurement of appropriate graft size, difficul ty of reimplantation, and early dehiscence of the papillary muscle ana stomosis. Recently, interest in this procedure has been rekindled by s uccessful laboratory experiments with mitral valve allograft implantat ion and improved understanding of the mitral valve apparatus from exte nsive mitral valve repair experience. In this article, we discuss the rationale for allograft use, the historical perspective of allograft u se, and technical problems, along with current solutions and clinical outcomes of MVR with mitral valve allograft. Tricuspid valve replaceme nt (TVR) with allograft mitral valve also is briefly discussed. (C) 19 98 Rapid Science Publishers.