Heterograft cardiac valve prostheses: a five-year follow-up.

The major advance in the management of valvular heart disease over the past twenty years has been due to prosthetic valve operation. The bioprostheses have good hemodynamic function and a low rate of thromboembolism although the long-term durability is unknown. In this series of 25 patients with 27 valves implanted over five years, there was an 9% early mortality and a 12% late mortality. There have been no thromboembolic episodes. Primary valvular dysfunction requiring operation occurred in 7.4% (2 out of 27). All surviving patients are in New York Heart Association Functional Class I or II.