title: Aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis with a small mechanical prosthetic valve.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although aortic valve replacement (AVR) is the only effective treatment for patients with aortic stenosis (AS), it is recognized that the use of small prosthetic valves due to a small aortic root often affects postoperative course after AVR. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of small prosthetic valves was a risk factor of AVR for AS.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared various perioperative factors and operative outcomes between patients with a small mechanical prosthetic valve (small group) and patients with a large mechanical prosthetic valve (large group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Early mortality was 0% in each group and the 5-year mortality was 25% in the small group and 10% in the large group. There were no significant differences in perioperative factors between the two groups. The small group patients were significantly older and smaller compared to the large group patients. The valve size was significantly correlated with age and BSA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of small mechanical prostheses was not a risk factor of AVR for AS when it was proportionate to the BSA even for elderly patients. AVR using a small mechanical prosthetic valve may be performed with good results in the short- and long-term.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Gunma University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Obayashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaki
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shibasaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D004452:Echocardiography; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome