Clinical cardiology
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Clinical cardiology · Oct 1997
Comparative StudyEarly and long-term outcome of aortic valve replacement with homograft versus mechanical prosthesis--8-year follow-up study.
Aortic valve disease is an important and frequent clinical problem with a mortality rate as high as 50-80% in a 5-year natural history of patients with severe aortic valve disease. Biological or mechanical prosthesis implantation is the only way to improve prognosis. ⋯ Early and late mortality as well as estimated probability of survival and hemodynamic improvement at 8-year follow-up after aortic valve replacement are independent of the type of implanted valve. Complication rate does not depend upon the type of preexisting valve pathology, but severe late complications are more common after mechanical valve implantation than after homograft implantation.