Eight year experience with the CarboMedics bileaflet valvular prosthesis

Two hundred and two patients (97 female and 105 male; mean age: 45. 5+/-9 years) received CarboMedics bileaflet valves during a period of eight years. Ninety-one patients received mitral, 72 aortic and 39 aortic+mitral valve prosthesis. Tricuspid plasty and coronary artery bypass surgery were the concomitant operations in 17 and 12 patients, respectively. The mean follow-up period was 24.7 months and the ratio was 91%. Overall operative mortality was 3.96% (8 patients); 2.78% for aortic valve replacement (AVR), 3.29% for mitral valve replacement (MVR) and 7.7% for double valve replacement (DVR). The late mortality rate was 2.89% for AVR, 2.2% for MVR and 8. 3% for DVR. The main cause of mortality was low cardiac output. The overall survival rate was 91.5% in 2 years. The actuarial freedom from thromboembolism in 2 years was 97% for AVR, 95% for MVR and 84% for DVR. No mortality due to heamorrhagic events was observed. CarboMedics prosthetic heart valves may be used satisfactorily with a low incidence of valve-related morbidity and mortality.