The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 69, 107-116, Copyright © 1975 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Complications of cloth-covered prosthetic valves: results with a new mitral prosthesis
DC Wukasch, FM Sandiford, GJ Reul Jr, GL Hallman and DA Cooley
During a 12 year period 5,103 cardiac prosthetic valves in 4,193 patients
have been evaluated for performance and incidence of complications. As a
result of our experience, the advantages of fewer embolic phenomena,
associated with epithelialization in completely cloth-covered valves and
those with cloth-covered seating rings, are outweighed by the problems of
cloth wear, hemolysis, and hemodynamic obstruction from tissue overgrowth.
A valve has been designed which incorporates the desirable features of
full-flow orifice, low-profile, self-washing principle, polished contact
surfaces, durable materials, and a large eccentric sewing ring into a new
mitral prosthesis. Clinical evaluation in 394 patients from Aug. 1, 1971,
through Dec. 31, 1973, has demonstrated excellent hemodynamic function and
a low incidence of thromboembolic phenomenon.