Background Pathogenesis of aortic valve calcificationis a multifunctional processassociated with various risk factors, while heart valve replacement is the only established treatment. Unfortunately, the real mechanism of the valve calcification remains still unknown. Herewith, we investigate the changes in molecular levelof aortic valve tissues in order to characterize the mineral deposits and ...

A 60-year-old man underwent aortic valve replacement with a bileaflet mechanical valve for aortic regurgitation and mitral valve repair using a prosthetic ring for mitral regurgitation (MR). Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) confirmed no residual MR and a normally functioning aortic prosthetic valve without a paravalvular leak. One week after the operation, transthoracic ech...

BACKGROUND The incidence of cerebrovascular accidents following aortic valve surgery remains a devastating complication. The aim of this study was to determine the number of potential embolic material arising during aortic valve replacement and to examine the efficacy of using ribbon gauze in the left ventricle during removal of the native valve and decalcification of the aortic annulus. METH...

The hearts of 14 patients dying early after replacement of a calcified aortic or mitral valve were examined for the presence of calcific coronary emboli. The incidence of embolization as shown by x-ray film was 92-9 per cent. The number of emboli in individual cases ranged from 4 to 119. Replacement of an aortic valve was associated with a more severe embolization than replacement of a mitral v...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The introduction of Duke's criteria and the improvement of imaging methods has lead to an earlier and a more accurate diagnosis of infectious endocarditis (IE). The options for the best therapeutic approach and the timing of surgery are still a matter of debate and require a close colaboration between the cardiologist, the infectionist and the cardiac surgeon. METHODS We u...

BACKGROUND In asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis, guidelines recommend left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of <50% as the threshold for referral for aortic valve replacement. We investigated the importance of LVEF on long-term outcome after aortic valve replacement in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS We retrospectively...

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation and transcatheter mitral valve repair (MitraClip) procedures have been performed worldwide. In this paper, we review the use of two-dimensional and three-dimensional transesophageal echo for guiding transcatheter aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair.

We experienced a case of aortic valve replacement after previous coronary artery bypass grafting with patent bypass grafts. Based on the retrosternal anatomy assessed by preoperative angiography and thoracic computed tomography, aortic valve replacement was performed through a median resternotomy. After careful dissection of the right side of the heart and the ascending aorta, cardiopulmonary b...

Between June 1969 and August I970, 8o patients, aged 22 to 63 years, had lone aortic valve replacement with frame-mounted autologous fascia lata. The operative mortality was 3.8 per cent. Seventy-seven survivors have been followed for 3 to 4 years and 50 have had postoperative investigation. There have been 8 subsequent deaths, 3 from infective endocarditis, 4 from aortic regurgitation, and one...