title: The right choice of prosthesis for patients undergoing aortic valve surgery: searching the truth.
abstract: Aortic valve surgery is suggested when native aortic valve is diseased and complications outweigh the risks. Choice of prosthesis for aortic valve surgery is vastly undetermined, in part due to the varied options (bioprosthetic, mechanical prosthesis, homografts and allografts) available. The technical issues during valve surgery and the anticoagulation concerns along with the patient type with respect to age, ethnicity, sex and quality of life do contribute to the challenge for deciding the type of valve prosthesis best substituted to the diseased native valve. Here we attempt to unravel the controversies and present a holistic approach towards settling on the best possible prosthesis for a diseased aortic valve.
authors.affiliation: Wessex Cardiothoracic Centre, General/BUPA Hospital, Southampton, Hampshire, UK. manzoor_elahi@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Maqsood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elahi
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asopa
authors.forename: Jawad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000637:transplantation*; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D006304:Health Status; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D012307:Risk Factors