The St. Jude Medical cardiac valve prosthesis: a 25-year experience with single valve replacement.

Background: From October 1977 to October 2002, 4,480 patients (age range, 17 to 94 years; average, 64 +/- 13 years) underwent single valve replacement with the St. Jude Medical heart valve. Of 2,982 aortic (AVR) and 1,498 mitral valve replacements (MVR), concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed on 42% and 33%, respectively.

Five-year follow up of the ATS mechanical heart valve.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2001, a total of 342 patients underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) or mitral valve replacement (MVR) with the ATS Medical prosthesis. The initial three-year phase of this study took place under a United States Food and Drug Administration-approved investigational device exemption study. The study aim was to determine the incidence of valve-related events in up to five years of follow up after valve implantation, and to assess patient disturbance from valve noise.

Opposite trends in coronary artery and valve surgery in a large multisurgeon practice, 1979-1999.

Background: Trends in coronary artery bypass (CAB) and valve operations (VO) may help predict the future of cardiac surgery in the context of changing case mix, shifting paradigms, emerging technology, and population demographics.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all 30,319 adult CAB and VO in our group from 1979 to 1999 according to specific procedures.

Results: Coronary artery bypass volumes peaked in 1996 at 1,895 cases, declining 15.

Replacement of the aortic valve in patients under 50 years of age: long-term follow-up of the St. Jude Medical prosthesis.

Background: Aortic valve replacement in the young adult (aged 18 to 50 years) is a choice between a mechanical prosthesis with attendant lifelong anticoagulation or biological prostheses of varying types that may have limited life expectancy in this age group.

Methods: The Cardiac Surgical Research Foundation database was accessed to determine long-term outcomes in patients having aortic valve replacement with the St. Jude Medical Valve.

Trends in aortic valve surgery in a large multi-surgeon, multi-hospital practice, 1979-1999.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Trends in aortic valve operations (AVO) may help to predict the future of aortic valve surgery in the context of changing case mix, population demographics, emerging technology and shifting paradigms.

Methods: All adults undergoing single AVO between 1979 and 1999 were reviewed retrospectively according to age, gender and other typical clinical variables, surgical complexity, specific operation and immediate outcome.

Results: There were 3,917 single AVO.