[Late results of mitral valve replacement with ball-type and low-profile prostheses]

The discussion covers long-term results of mitral valve replacement with Soviet-made prostheses. Two hundred and sixty-three patients have been under observation, the follow-up periods lasting from six months to five years. A ball-valve prosthesis (MK4-25) was implanted to 125 patients; 138 patients received a low-profile (,) prosthesis. Functional parameters were improved in 86 (69.9 percent) patients with ball-valve implants and in 118 (89 percent) patients with low-profile implants. Ten ball valve implanted patients (8 percent) and 6 (4.3 percent) patients with low-profile prostheses died in the long-term period. The five-year survival of rotation-disc artificial valve recipients was 90 percent, and that of the ball valve-implanted patients, 83 percent.