The pulmonary homograft as aortic valve substitute: 7 years' follow up.

Objective: The advantages of the aortic valve homograft high resistance to infective endocarditis, low risk of thromboembolism, low gradient and excellent long term results are well known. Trying to extend these advantages to a greater number of patients, we used pulmonary homografts as aortic valve substitute, based on the experimental evidence, that they can withstand the higher stress in systemic circulation.

Methods: From September 1988 to August 1994 175 patients (103 men, 72 women, mean age 61.

[Heart surgery in the elderly].

The number of octogenarian patients undergoing an open heart procedure in our unit is the fastest increasing group of patients. Between June 1985 and July 1994 112 octogenarians (mean age 81.7 years, 60 males, 52 females) underwent cardiac operations.