title: Long-term follow-up after aortic valve replacement with a small aortic prosthesis.
abstract: Although aortic valve replacement (AVR) is an effective treatment for patients with aortic valvular disease, the implantation of a small aortic prosthesis may result in residual left ventricular outflow stenosis and transvalvular gradient. In this study, the outcome in the long-term period of patients treated with a small aortic prosthesis was analyzed retrospectively. Twenty-four patients with AVR were divided into two groups, group A and group B. Group A consisted of 16 patients with 21 mm-sized prosthetic valves, and group B consisted of 8 patients with 19 or 16 mm-sized prosthetic valves. There were no significant differences in preoperative cardiac function or operative procedure in the two groups. The mean follow-up period (months) was 55.0 in group A and 51.3 in group B.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One patient died of cerebral infarction in group A. There were no significant differences in cardiothoracic ratio (CTR), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) between the two groups. Postoperative physical activity according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification showed no significant differences in the two groups. Despite using a small prostheses for AVR, the postoperative course was good in the long-term period, although careful follow-up is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Visceral Organ Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Kiyohiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nameki
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morishita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome