Intermediate-term results with 1,019 carbomedics aortic valves.

BACKGROUND: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the intermediate-term outcome in patients with the Carbomedics aortic valve prosthesis. METHODS: The study included 1,019 primary valve replacements between 1989 and 1997. Seventy-two percent of patients were men; mean (standard deviation) age was 61 (10) years. The preoperative New York Heart Association functional class was III or IV in 70% of patients. Follow-up at 9 years was 99.6% complete, comprising 2,730 patient-years (mean, 2.7 years). RESULTS: Patient survival, including operative deaths, was 80% at 7 years. The linearized death rate was 2.9%/year. Statistically significant risk factors for mortality were diabetes, pure valve insufficiency, advanced age at operation, and advanced preoperative functional class. Linearized rates were thrombosis, 0.1%/year; thromboembolism, 1.0%/year; hemorrhage, 1.7%/year; endocarditis, 0.1%/year; paravalvular leak, 0.1%/year; reoperation, 0.1%/year; and all events, 3.0%/year. The 7-year estimates of freedom from complications were thrombosis, 99%; thromboembolism, 93%; hemorrhage, 89%; endocarditis, 99%; paravalvular leak, 99.7%; reoperation, 99%; and all events, 82%. No structural valve failure was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The low incidence of valve-related complications favors the continued use of the Carbomedics valve in the aortic position.

Intermediate clinical results after aortic valve replacement with the Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis.

From January 1986 through December 1993, 482 patients underwent aortic valve replacement with the Carpentier-Edwards pericardial bioprosthesis at our institution. Patients ranged in age from 26 to 87 years (mean, 72.5 +/- 7.1 years), and 59.8% of them were men. Pure or predominant aortic stenosis was the indication for operation in 80.1% of the patients. Most (75.4%) of the patients were in New York Heart Association functional class III or IV preoperatively because of dyspnea. Isolated aortic valve replacement was performed in 265 patients (55.0%). The most frequent concomitant procedure was aortocoronary bypass grafting (38.4%). All patients were followed up for as many as 7 years postoperatively (average, 1.7 +/- 1.7 years). Twenty-six patients (5.4%) died within 30 days postoperatively; 53 patients died during the remainder of the follow-up period. The actuarial survival rate was 74.0% +/- 3.6% at 5 years and 59.7% +/- 7.5% at 7 years postoperatively. There were 12 valve-related deaths, and these were due to endocarditis (n = 3), thromboembolism (n = 5), anticoagulant-related hemorrhage (n = 2), reoperation necessitated by structural deterioration (n = 1), and sudden death (n = 1). After 7 years, the freedom from thromboembolic events was 86.6% +/- 3.8%, the freedom from anticoagulant-related hemorrhage was 98.0% +/- 0.9%, and the freedom from reoperation was 90.9% +/- 8.3%. There was only one structural failure, and this occurred at 6 years postoperatively.

Reduction of the vein graft occlusion rate after coronary artery bypass surgery by treatment with a thromboxane receptor antagonist.

The early occlusion rate of vein grafts after coronary artery bypass surgery was reduced to 3.1% by treatment with a selective thromboxane receptor antagonist. The increased bleeding tendency caused by the substance led to a non-significant increase in blood transfusions.

[Death rate on a heart surgery waiting list]. / Tod auf der herzchirurgischen Warteliste.

Of 2398 patients on a waiting list for aorto-coronary bypass operation 42 (1.8%) died before operation during an average waiting time of four months. Comparing the diagnostic data of those who died on the waiting list and those after operation, there was an increased frequency of indicators to further progression of the coronary heart disease (angina at rest, three-vessel disease, main stem stenosis, left ventricular contraction abnormalities) in the group of those patients who had died on the waiting list. The significance of these various indicators was further high-lighted in their prognostic significance when taking into account different waiting periods of the various sub-groups.

Perioperative myocardial infarction in coronary artery bypass surgery.

Perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) as diagnosed by standard electrocardiograms (appearance of persistent Q-waves of at least 0.4 sec duration) and/or autopsy, occurred in 51 (3.8%) out of 1341 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery using saphenous vein grafts. Retrospective analysis of the available data revealed that preoperative factors like sex, age, history of myocardial infarction, functional class, coronary risk factors, number of vessels diseased, and ventricular function had no influence on the incidence of PMI. However, intraoperative parameters, e.g., type and duration of cardiac arrest as well as technical errors leading to graft occlusion, significantly affected the incidence of PMI. The clinical relevance of PMI is indicated by a high early mortality of 25.5% as compared to 2.3% in patients without PMI. Improvement as well as complete alleviation of angina pectoris was less frequent in patients with PMI than in patients without PMI. The decrease in the rate of PMI from more than 18% in 1970 to less than 1% in 1978/79 confirms that such incidents should not be regarded as an inevitable risk but as a complication which can largely be avoided by proper operative technique.

Influence of preoperative variables upon the results of coronary artery bypass surgery.

One thousand ninety-six consecutive patients who received aorta-to-coronary artery bypass vein grafts were followed up to 4 years postoperatively. The early mortality was 1.7%; the 4-year survival rate, computed by actuarial methods, was 93.1%; the incidence of peri-operative myocardial infarction was 1.9%. After 4 years, 94.4% of the patients were free of peri- and postoperative infarcts. Angina pectoris was relieved in 85.7% and eliminated in 62.8% of the survivors. An analysis of the effects of ten preoperative variables on operative results showed that operative risk (early mortality, perioperative myocardial infarction) was not influenced by any of the variables. Late results (4-year mortality, 4-year infarction rate), however, were negatively affected by impaired ventricular function. Symptomatic improvement was more pronounced in men than in women.