title: Experience with surgery of the heart valves.
abstract: A review is given of a 15 year experience of valve replacement with Teflon cusps, pericardial cusps, Starr-Edwards, Key-Shiley, Wada-Cutter and Björk-Shiley artificial valve prosthesis. The Björk-Shiley tilting disc valves have shown the lowest gradient and blood trauma and excellent durability in more than 1 000 implantations during a 7 year period. Anticoagulation therapy is considered necessary with all types of artificial heart valves. Thrombo-embolism is negligible after aortic valve replacement (1 episode in 4 000 patient months) but still a problem in the mitral position (4 episodes in 1 000 patient months).
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000379:methods; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014261:Tricuspid Valve / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants