The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 71, 230-237, Copyright © 1976 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Isolated replacement of the mitral valve with the Starr-Edwards prosthesis
DA Barnhorst, HA Oxman, DC Connolly, JR Pluth, GK Danielson, RB Wallace and DC McGoon
Isolated mitral valve replacement with the Starr-Edwards prosthesis has
been performed on 657 patients at the Mayo Clinic during the 11 year period
ending January, 1972. The most recent subset of that series comprised
patients who received the Model 6120 prosthesis. In this group, the
operative mortality rate was 9 per cent and the actuarial late death rate
at 5 years was 20 per cent. This survival rate is a significant improvement
over the natural history of severe mitral valve disease. Factors associated
with operative deaths are large left artrial size, advanced functional
class, and previous heart surgery. Variables associated with higher
incidence of late deaths are large left atrial size, patient age at
operation, and multivalve disease. Risk of thromboembolism is increased
with large left atrial size, presence of left atrial thrombus, and
inadequate anticoagulant therapy.