title: [The Starr-Edwards heart valve: one of the oldest mechanical heart valves still functioning today].
abstract: In the 1960s, the Starr-Edwards valve was the first artificial heart valve to be successfully implanted in humans. This valve has now been in use for decades with outstanding results: patients whose life expectancy had previously been short acquired a good prognosis with this development. Nowadays the Starr-Edwards valve is not used anymore, but patients are being described today in whom these valves are still functioning well after more than 40 years.
authors.affiliation: Radboudumc, afd. Cardio-thoracale Chirurgie, Nijmegen.
authors.forename: Michiel H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Schoenaker
authors.forename: Herbert B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: van Wetten
authors.forename: Wim J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Morshuis
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008943:Mitral Valve; D011379:Prognosis