Thrombotic catastrophe in the patient with multiple Björk-Shiley prostheses.

Thrombosis of the Björk-Shiley prosthesis has been a recognized problem for many years. Review of 172 patients at the University of Kentucky Medical Center who had one or more Björk-Shiley valves inserted between January, 1975, and July, 1980, revealed special problems in those patients with multiple prostheses. Diagnosis and therapy prove more difficult, and the cumulative incidence of thrombosis in the patients with multiple prostheses is 26.8% at six years. Projected long-term use of multiple Björk-Shiley prostheses is discouraged.