The case for a specialist multidisciplinary valve clinic.

Valve disease is common and is increasing in prevalence as the population ages. The delivery of appropriate management is not always straightforward, and better ways of organizing care are required. Here, the argument is made for a specialist multidisciplinary valve clinic, while a description is provided of the authors' model clinic, which incorporates a specialist cardiologist in addition to sonographers and a nurse who carry out the surveillance services.

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.

A randomized comparison of the Cryolife O'Brien and Toronto stentless replacement aortic valves.

Objective: A composite stentless valve might be less obstructive than a preparation incorporating the porcine right coronary muscle bar. The aim of this study was to compare early hemodynamic function in a prospective series of 78 patients randomized to receive either a Toronto or Cryolife O'Brien stentless valve.

Methods: Echocardiography was performed early after surgery, between 3 and 6 months, 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).