BACKGROUND Since most complications related to the operation of prosthetic heart valves is due to disturbances of flow, its hydrodynamic characterization is a useful aid in the design of new prostheses. Simulations of pulsatile flow in cardiac prostheses began nearly 40 years ago, through the development of different mock human circulatory systems, improving the clinical results interpretation....

Prosthetic valve endocarditis occurs in 2-4% of patients with prosthetic valves and carries a mortality of around 50%. A low index of suspicion should enable early diagnosis. The empirical use of antibiotics in patients with a prosthetic valve who develop an unexplained fever is inappropriate. Careful liaison between cardiologist, microbiologist and cardiac surgeon is essential for optimal mana...

CONFLICT OF INTEREST none declared. INTRODUCTION Brucella endocarditis (BE) is a rare but severe and potentially lethal manifestation of brucellosis. Pre-existing valves lesions and prosthetic valves (PV) are favorable for BE. CASE REPORT We represent the case of a 46-year-old man who was treated at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, Clinical Center of Sarajevo University, as blood culture...

The purpose of this report is to review the results of mitral valve replacement since a first report in the Annals of Surgery in 1961, in order to determine the relative importance of new valve designs versus other surgical variables. The continued use of the silastic ball valve in its 1966 configuration (Model 6120), by providing a comparative data base for other new prosthetic valves, allows ...

Recent computational methods enabling patient-specific simulations of native and prosthetic heart valves are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on two critical components of such methods: (1) anatomically realistic finite element models for simulating the structural dynamics of heart valves; and (2) fluid structure interaction methods for simulating the performance of heart valves in a patient-specif...

A 59-year-old male who had undergone aortic and mitral valve replacement with Starr-Edwards ball valves 27 years ago was admitted to our hospital for hemolytic anemia and heart failure. Echocardiography revealed prosthetic valve failure with a high-pressure gradient and small effective orifice area. The Starr-Edwards ball valves were successfully replaced with bileaflet mechanical valves. The e...

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine the clinical and echocardiographic parameters that differentiate thrombus from pannus formation as the etiology of obstructed mechanical prosthetic valves. BACKGROUND Distinction of thrombus from pannus on obstructed prosthetic valves is essential because thrombolytic therapy has emerged as an alternative to reoperation. METHODS We analyzed clinical, transt...

The management of pregnant women with mechanical heart valves is challenging. Recently, based on small numbers of patients and poor-quality data, correspondence from Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc has described treatment "failures" and concerns about teratogenicity with the use of the low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) enoxaparin. The company issued a "Warning" that enoxaparin should not be used ...

T he management of pregnant women with mechanical heart valves is challenging. Recently, based on small numbers of patients and poor-quality data, correspondence from Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc has described treatment “failures” and concerns about teratogenicity with the use of the low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) enoxaparin. The company issued a “Warning” that enoxaparin should not be used...

Prosthetic valvular dysfunction resulting in clinically significant complications occurred in six patients with Hancock porcine heterografts. In one patient with a prosthetic valve in the aortic position, massive prosthetic thrombosis resulted in sudden death. In two patients who had a mitral prosthesis, thrombosis resulted in congestive heart failure and systemic embolization; in one of the la...