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Forty-year survival with Smeloff-Cutter and Starr-Edwards prostheses
Takanori Suezawa1, Toru Morimoto, Teiji Jinno
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Kagawa, Japan. suezawa2004@yahoo.co.jp
Insights
This case study reports on a 40-year follow-up of a patient who underwent double valve replacement surgery. The patient maintained good functional capacity with intact prosthetic valves, requiring only pacemaker implantation.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cardiac Surgery
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Double valve replacement is a significant cardiac surgical procedure.
- Prosthetic valve durability is a critical factor in long-term patient outcomes.
- Assessing long-term function of mechanical heart valves is essential.
Observation:
- A 34-year-old male patient underwent double valve replacement with Smeloff-Cutter aortic and Starr-Edwards mitral prostheses.
- The indication for surgery was severe aortic and mitral valve stenosis and insufficiency.
- The patient was followed for 40 years post-surgery.
Findings:
- The patient maintained a New York Heart Association functional class of I to II throughout the follow-up period.
- No further surgical interventions were required, apart from pacemaker implantation.
- Echocardiographic evaluation confirmed the structural integrity and proper function of both prosthetic valves at 40 years.
Implications:
- This case demonstrates the exceptional long-term durability and efficacy of Smeloff-Cutter and Starr-Edwards mechanical heart valves.
- Such long-term success highlights the potential for excellent quality of life following double valve replacement in younger patients.
- This case provides valuable data for understanding the lifelong performance of specific mechanical prosthetic valves in clinical practice.
Abstract:
This case study describes a 40-year follow-up of a man who had a double valve replacement with Smeloff-Cutter aortic (Cutter Laboratories, Berkeley, CA) and Starr-Edwards mitral prostheses (Edwards Laboratories, Santa Ana, CA) when he was 34 years old. Double valve replacement was performed for aortic and mitral valve stenosis and insufficiency. To date, no surgical treatment has been required except a pacemaker implantation. The patient presented with a New York Heart Association functional class of I to II. Echocardiography revealed intact prostheses.
