title: Clinical experience with the Bicarbon heart valve prosthesis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We have previously reported mid-term results of a study, which ended in January 2000, on the Bicarbon valve. The study concluded that the valve showed excellent clinical results, associated with a low incidence of valve-related complications. In the present study, the same patients were prospectively followed for an additional 5 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-four patients had aortic valve replacement (AVR), 48 had mitral valve replacement (MVR), and 13 had both aortic and mitral valve replacement (DVR). The mean age of the 105 patients was 61.2 +/- 11.3 years. The mean follow-up was 6.1 +/- 1.9 years with a cumulative follow-up of 616 patient-years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 5 early deaths (4.7%: 4 in the AVR group and 1 in the MVR group) and 21 late deaths (3.4%/patient-year: 5 valve related deaths and 16 valve unrelated deaths). Survival at 8 years was 75.2 +/- 7.0% in the AVR group, 76.6 +/- 6.2% in the MVR group, and 55.4 +/- 16.1% in the DVR group. The linearized incidence of thrombo-embolic complications, hemorrhagic complications, and paravalvular leaks in all patients was 0.65 +/- 1.48%, 0.81 +/- 1.69%, and 0.16 +/- 0.54%/patient-year respectively. No other complications were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Bicarbon prosthetic heart valve has shown excellent long-term clinical results, associated with a low incidence of valve-related complications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, JAPAN. tcvmisa@jichi.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Misawa
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oki
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaminishi
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakano
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aizawa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve; D011446:Prospective Studies