Bovine pericardial versus porcine stented replacement aortic valves: early results of a randomized comparison of the Perimount and the Mosaic valves.

Objective: A stented bovine pericardial valve might be less obstructive than a stented porcine valve. This study compared early hemodynamic function in a prospective series of 99 patients randomized to receive either a Mosaic or Perimount replacement aortic valve.

Methods: Echocardiography was performed early after surgery and at 1 year after surgery.

The subcoronary Toronto stentless versus supra-annular Perimount stented replacement aortic valve: early clinical and hemodynamic results of a randomized comparison in 160 patients.

Background: A stentless valve is expected to be hemodynamically superior to a stented valve. The aim of this study was to compare early postoperative hemodynamic function and clinical events in a randomized, prospective series of 160 stentless and stented biological replacement aortic valves.

Methods: We randomized 160 consecutive patients on 1 surgeon's list to receive either a Toronto stentless porcine valve (St Jude Medical, Inc, St Paul, Minn) or a Perimount stented bovine pericardial valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, Calif).

Nominal size in six bileaflet mechanical aortic valves: a comparison of orifice size and biologic equivalence.

Objectives: Nominal size remains the standard by which valves are compared, but its relationship with orifice area and the patient tissue annulus diameter may differ according to valve design. The aims of this study were to measure the orifice size and compare biologic equivalence in six bileaflet mechanical heart valve designs.

Methods: The inflow aspect of each of 29 valves was photographed then digitized, and the maximum internal diameter and orifice area were calculated.