title: Thirty-nine-year survival with the Starr-edwards mitral valve prosthesis.
abstract: We report a case of a 57 year-old woman with Starr-Edwards model 6120 mitral valve replacement and Kay-Shiley bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement in 1968 at Niguarda Hospital in Milan. The mitral caged-ball has proved its excellent durability and its good hemodynamic performance in many patients, even if subject to high tendency to thrombosis. In literature there is no evidence of durability of this prosthesis longer than 35 years. Our patient after 39 years from mitral valve replacement lives a happy and fulfilling life (NYHA II), with no evidence of hemolysis, ball variance, symptomatic embolization or major bleeding.
authors.affiliation: School of Cardiology, University Hospital Trieste, Italy. sabino.scardi@libero.it
authors.forename: Sabino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scardi
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pinamonti
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sinagra
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D011379:Prognosis; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013997:Time Factors