title: Initial experience with the Freedom Solo® stentless aortic valve in a low volume centre.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Freedom Solo is a stentless biological aortic valve which is implanted supra-annularly with a single suture line. An increased risk of postoperative thrombocytopenia in the early postoperative period has been reported in recent studies. In our study we evaluated postoperative haemodynamic performance and thrombocyte-levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty seven patients who underwent valve implantation of the Sorin Freedom Solo stentless valve were included. The haemodynamic performance of the valve was evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography postoperatively at the fourth day (mean) and after a median of 4.2 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean gradient (mmHg) of Freedom Solo was 7.5 at four days and 8.6 at 4.2 months. Postoperatively no patient had more than grade 1 leakage. Seven percent of the patients had a reduction of thrombocytes to less than 20% of the preoperative level. Seventy six percent had a minimum postoperative thrombocyte level less than 100*10(9)/L. The 30 days mortality in our patient material was zero.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implantation of the Freedom Solo valve was uncomplicated in our experience. Favourable transvalvular gradients and no significant leaks were found. In accordance with the literature, we found a high percentage of patients having a postoperative level of thrombocytes less than 100*10(9)/L after implantation of Freedom Solo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. kolseth@stud.ntnu.no
authors.forename: Solveig Moss
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kolseth
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nordhaug
authors.forename: Roar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stenseth
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wahba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001021:Aortic Valve; D001705:Bioprosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome