Surgery for aortic valve: Prosthesis and heterograft

Between August 1964, and August 1968, 68 consecutive patients underwent aortic valve replacement. There were 49 isolated valve replacements and 19 combined with other valve replacements or surgical procedures. The ball (Magovern) prosthesis was used in 43 instances and the Starr-Edwards technique in 12. The disc prosthesis (Jones) was used on 2 occasions and heterograft in 7. The technique of utilizing a Teflon ring interposed between the host and the graft is described, and the surgical and clinical facets of its application are briefly discussed. There were 10 hospital (14.7 percent) and 4 late deaths (5.8 percent). The surviving 54 patients were followed for a period of 1 month to over 4 years. Eleven patients having prosthesis developed postoperative emboli; the majority had full recovery. The over-all results indicate significant improvement of the majority of patients with 51 of the 54 surviving patients leading an active life.