Aortic valve replacement for end-stage aortic valve disease.

To evaluate the outcome of surgical intervention for end-stage aortic valve disease, we carried out a retrospective, longitudinal survey of 85 patients (65 males, 20 females; mean age 53 period. All the patients presented in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV in cardiac failure (3 had cardiogenic shock and 27 had bacterial endocarditis). In-hospital mortality was 9.4% (8/85) overall. Those with endocarditis had a significantly higher mortality, 6/27 (22%) vs 2/58 (3.4%), p < 0.01. In-hospital mortality was not significantly increased in those with renal failure, reoperation, simultaneous coronary artery surgery, age > 65 years nor was it related to the predominance of aortic regurgitation or stenosis. After a mean follow-up period of 5.9 years (range 0 to 12.5 years), the overall actuarial survival was 82% and 74% at 5 and 10 years respectively. For 66 late survivors, the NYHA status improved to class I in 51, to II in 10, to III in 4 patients, and one patient remained in class IV. The incidence of paraprosthetic leak, reoperation, thromboembolism, anticoagulant-related haemorrhage, and endocarditis were respectively 0.8, 0.8, 1.6, 1.4, and 0.2 per 100 patient-years. Aortic valve replacement in the patient with end-stage aortic valve disease is a high-risk procedure, the risk being higher in the presence of endocarditis. The favourable long-term survival, long-term improvement in functional class and the relatively low incidence of valve-related complications justify surgical intervention in such patients, who would otherwise have a very poor prognosis.