Prosthetic valves or tissue valves--a vote for mechanical prostheses.

Thirty years of effort to obtain better substitutes for destroyed human heart valves brought continuous improvement of the various designs and materials used for the prostheses. However, none of the mechanical or tissue valves currently available meet all the requirements of an ideal artificial heart valve. Accurate comparison of results after implantation of mechanical and tissue valves is difficult because there are no randomized studies and most of the published results are gathered from patient groups operated on in different centers and over different time frames. Reliable comparison therefore presumes criteria to assess the success of valve replacement. The late outcome of heart valve replacement can be determined by subjective improvement, improvement of functional capacity and central hemodynamics, normalization of impaired ventricular function and by the frequency of complications related to or induced by the prostheses. Subjective improvement and improvement of functional capacity is obviously dependent on the degree of postoperative normalization of the hemodynamics. The hemodynamic properties of modern mechanical prostheses are superior to those of tissue valves because of the significantly more favourable relation between total prosthetic valve area and effective prosthetic valve orifice area, conditioned by design. These unfavourable hemodynamics are manifest especially when prostheses of smaller sizes are implanted. The main disadvantage of biological valves is their limited durability due to calcification with tissue damage resulting in degeneration and dysfunction. In addition to the risk of re-operation of tissue valves, for some patients hemodynamical deterioration with consecutive decrease of their functional capacity must be expected a considerable time before a second operation is mandatory. When compared with tissue valves, the most important disadvantage of mechanical valves is their thrombogenicity with the need for life-long anticoagulation therapy. However, the majority of patients with tissue valves do also require long-term anticoagulation because of factors allied by itself with an increased risk of thromboembolism. According to these advantages and disadvantages of mechanical and tissue valves, a differential therapy and an individualized approach should be preferred. Mechanical valves seem to be favourable in young patients, in patients with atrial fibrillation, high risk of reoperation or those in whom only small sized valves can be implanted.