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.