CLINICAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF THE BIOLOGICAL PROSTHESIS 'ASPIRE' FOR SURGICAL CORRECTION OF MITRAL VALVE DISEASE

Aim: To assess clinical and functional efficacy of implanted biological prosthesis “ASPIRE” (manufactured by Vascutek) for correction of mitral valve disease. Materials and methods: From October 2008 to December 2013, biological prostheses “ASPIRE” (Vascutek) were implanted to 34 patients with mitral valve disease (mean age 63.59 ± 4.96 years, 79.4% female). From these, 24 patients had mitral stenosis and 10 patients had mitral insufficiency. 73.5% of all patients had heart failure Strazhesko-Vasilenko IIA grade and 85.3% of patients had chronic heart failure NYHA III. Isolated mitral valve replacement was performed only in 8 (23.5%) of patients. In 22 (64.7%) of cases mitral valve replacement was combined with tricuspid valvuloplasty in various modifications. Duration of cardiopulmonary bypass and of aortic clamping was 88.09 ± 25.95 and 65.68 ± 25.51 minutes, respectively. Before and after surgery all patients underwent echocardiographic assessment and clinical assessment of their general status. Results: In-hospital mortality was 5.88% (n = 2) and was related to multiorgan failure in the early postoperative period. All 32 (94.12%) surviving patients improved with decrease or complete disappearance of heart failure. Postoperative complications were typical for cardiac surgery. There were no episodes of embolism, structural dysfunction, thrombosis of the prosthesis and endocarditis of the prosthesis in the early postoperative period. Pressure gradients across prosthetic valves were not high and corresponded to good clinical and hemodynamic results in the early postoperative period. Conclusion: Taking into account good immediate results of mitral valve replacement, as well as no need in lifelong anticoagulation in patients with multiple concomitant disorders, implantation of the biological prosthesis “ASPIRE” (Vascutek) could become a procedure of choice for correction of valve abnormalities in patients above 65 years. For more comprehensive assessment of the implanted prosthesis, it is necessary to further assess long-term results of valve replacement.