title: Short-term follow up with the 3f Enable aortic bioprosthesis: clinical and echocardiographic results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High-risk patients referred for aortic valve replacement (AVR) may benefit from sutureless technology in order to reduce mortality and morbidity. Herein is described the authors' initial experience and short-term results of the sutureless 3f Enable aortic bioprosthesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 28 patients (19 females, nine males; mean age 76.8 +/- 5.1 years; range: 66 to 86 years) with symptomatic aortic valve disease underwent AVR with the 3f Enable bioprosthesis between May 2010 and May 2011. Preoperatively, the mean logistic EuroSCORE was 13.7 +/- 10.8%. Concomitant procedures included mitral valve replacement (n = 1), tricuspid valve repair (n = 3) and coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 5). Echocardiography was performed preoperatively, at postoperative day 1, at discharge, and at follow up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The in-hospital mortality was 3.5% (1/28). Seventeen patients underwent minimally invasive AVR via an upper partial ministernotomy (n = 13) or a right anterior minithoracotomy (n = 4) approach. The cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and aortic cross-clamp (ACC) times were 99.4 +/- 22.9 and 65.9 +/- 18.0 min, respectively, for isolated AVR, and 138.8 +/- 62.2 and 100.5 +/- 52.2 min, respectively, for combined procedures. One patient underwent aortic root replacement for an intimal aortic lesion after sutureless implantation. At a median follow up of four months (range: 2-10 months), survival was 96.5%, freedom from reoperation was 96.5%, and the mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 11.1 +/- 5.4 mmHg.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AVR with the 3f Enable bioprosthesis in high-risk patients is a safe and feasible procedure that is associated with a low mortality and excellent hemodynamic performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy. gioconci@libero.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Concistrè
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierandrea
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Farneti
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiaramonti
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Solinas
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery, G. Pasquinucci Heart Hospital, Fondazione CNR-G. Monasterio, Massa, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo Giuseppe Cerillo Mattia
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Glauber
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass; D003250:Constriction; D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000401:mortality; D006439:Hemodynamics; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D056346:Sternotomy; D013908:Thoracotomy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography