Porcine stentless aortic heart valve substitute mid-term clinical follow-up.

From May 1990 to January 1994, 120 patients underwent aortic valve replacement with the use of the Biocor porcine aortic stentless heart valve (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 of prosthetic valve failure and of those: 20 were due to primary tissue failure and in 10 due to prosthetic endocarditis, native aortic bicuspid valve in 11 and senile calcificant aortic valve disease in four. Thirty-three patients had aortic annular related pathology. Their preoperative functional class revealed 61 patients in class III and 59 in class IV. The longest follow-up in this aortic group was 42 months with a mean of 26. The surgical technique used rendered consistent and reproducible results. There was a hospital mortality of six patients (5%). The mortality was not valve related. The hospital morbidity in 14 revealed full recovery of all patients. There were four late reoperations, in two due to recurrent endocarditis and in the last two because of paravalvar leak. There was a late mortality of four patients (non valve related). The follow-up of these patients revealed full competent aortic stentless valve in 97 patients and only minor jet in nine. Most patients are in functional class I and II. The Aortic stentless concept has proven to be outstanding with the use of the Biocor Aortic stentless valve throughout the current follow-up.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)