Morphological and Clinical Findings of Explanted Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Pericardial Valve in the Aortic Position

Freedom from structural valve deterioration (SVD) at 15 years with the Carpentier-Edwards (CE) Perimount pericardial valve in the aortic position was 60% in patients aged60 years compared to 90% and 99% in patients aged 60-70 years and70 years, respectively. The study aim was to focus on the causes of SVD requiring valve explant according to three different age groups:60 years, 60-70 years, and70 years. The short- and longterm clinical results of the patient cohort, followed for 25 years, are presented.A retrospective review was made of 89 patients among 2,405 who had undergone elective aortic valve replacement (AVR) with CE pericardial valves between November 1981 and March 2011, and in whom the prosthesis explant was secondary to degeneration of the valve.Patients aged70 years experienced more late complications such as endocarditis (p = 0.02) and mortality (p = 0.02). Following surgery for prosthesis explant and replacement, 39 of the 89 patients (44%) died. The average time to postoperative mortality in that population was 2.8 ± 3.6 years. On combining all causes of SVD, earlier dysfunction was noted in patients aged60 years, and late dysfunction in patients aged60 years (p = 0.003). However, there was no significant difference between groups in the process of degeneration (either calcification, pannus, tear, thrombus, endocarditis) (p = NS). No predictors were found of early and late dysfunction.Patients aged60 years in whom a CE Perimount valve was implanted in the aortic position were more prone to early degeneration of their valve and related mortality. However, no predictors were found of early degeneration of the valve in that patient population.