Abstract
Clinical results of prosthetic valve replacement with the Björk-Shiley valve were reported. Between November 1970 and July 1981, 124 patients had been operated 128 times with 143 Björk-Shiley valves in Mie University Hospital. 44 aortic, 58 mitral, 18 aortic and mitral, 2 tricuspid and 2 pulmonic valve replacement were done. In 3 cases reoperation was done four times, because of one thrombosed valve and three infected valves. Overall mortality rate was 14.5%.
Postoperative anticoagulant therapy was performed routinly in all cases, though thromboembolism occured five times in 4 cases (1.3% per 100 patient years). In 2 cases thromboembolic episodes occured when the anticoagulant therapy was interrupted. Anticoagulations-related retroperitoneal bleeding was in one cases.
Prosthetic valve endocarditis were in 3 cases. After surgery, the N. Y. H. A. functional classification of the 106 survivers were I (88%) and II (11%), except one case with aortic perivalvular leakage after prosthetic valve endocarditis.
