Mitral and aortic valve replacement using fresh unstented pulmonary and aortic homografts.

The use of prosthetic valves carries a high incidence of complications including thromboembolism, hemolysis, infection, impaired hemodynamic function and mechanical failure. Unstented homograft valves provide a good quality of life, particularly in terms of a reasonable freedom from these complications. This paper presents the first simultaneous replacement of the mitral and aortic valves using fresh unstented pulmonary and aortic homografts collected from the same donor. We believe that this technique will be especially useful in developing countries facing financial difficulties and problems with patient education.