title: DeBakey Surgitool mechanical heart valve prosthesis, explanted at 32 years.
abstract: Contemporary mechanical heart value prostheses are expected to last "just about forever" or the patient's lifeline. They do however still suffer complications, some of which necessitate premature explantation. Complications today are mainly related to patient compliance with anticoagulant medication, infection and hemorrhage. The DeBakey Surgitool mechanical heart valve was the first such device to have Pyrolyte components. We present a DeBakey surgitool mechanical heart valve that was in place for 32 years! It was explanted for dysfunction related to tissue overgrowth and not to its related components. With good patient compliance, this mechanical heart valve prosthesis is an example of good prosthetic valve durability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street E4-301, Toronto, ON, Canada. jagdish.butany@uhn.on.ca
authors.forename: Jagdish
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butany
authors.forename: Ather
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naseemuddin
authors.forename: Vidhya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Christopher M S
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Feindel
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography