Early experience with a quadrileaflet stentless mitral valve

Background. Presently no ideal prosthesis for mitral valve replacement exis ts. The quadrileaflet mitral valve (SJM-Quattro-MV; St. Jude Medical, Inc, St. Paul, MN) is a chordally supported stentless bioprosthesis. Due to its specific geometry it seems to be particularly suited for mitral valve repla cement. Methods. From March 1999 to October 2000, 12 patients (ages 71 +/- 2 years) received the SJM-Quattro-MV. Six patients suffered from valvular stenosis and 6 patients from incompetence. Preoperatively, all patients were in New York Heart Association functional class III, with left ventricular ejection fraction amounts of 54% +/- 17%. Results. Eleven patients received a medium size SJM-Quattro-MV and one pati ent received a large size SJM-Quattro-MV. Cross-clamp time was 99.8 +/- 4.9 minutes. Additional procedures were coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 3 ) and left atrial microwave ablation (n = 2). Postoperative mortality (n = 1) was procedure related. At follow-up of 11.6 +/- 5.4 months, all patients were well, the transvalvular pressure gradient was 5.0 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, and the effective orifice area 2.7 +/- 0.2 cm(2). Conclusions. Our preliminary experiences with the SJM-Quattro-MV presented good clinical results and promoted an optimistic way of thinking about the further development of these valve prostheses. (C) 2001 by The Society of T horacic Surgeons.