Aortic valve replacement with 17-mm St. Jude Medical Regent prosthetic valves for a small calcified aortic annulus in elderly patients

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of aortic valve replacement (AVR) performed with a 17-mm St. Jude Medical Regent prosthetic valve (17SJMR) for an aortic annulus ≤19 mm in elderly patients aged ≥65 years. Six female patients (age 73.0 ± 5.1 years, body surface area 1.43 ± 0.07 m²) underwent AVR between October 2005 and February 2008. Peak transaortic pressure gradient, which was 80.8 ± 31.0 mmHg preoperatively, decreased to 31.0 ± 4.2 mmHg postoperatively (P < 0.01) and to 21.7 ± 1.5 mmHg long term (P < 0.01). The left ventricular mass index, which was 112.1 ± 10.6 g/m² preoperatively, also significantly decreased to 101.4 ± 15.0 g/m² postoperatively and to 88.3 ± 14.8 g/m² long term (P < 0.01). Subjective symptoms diminished in all patients, and neither mortality nor hemorrhagic complications occurred. The postoperative mean effective orifice area index was 0.91 ± 0.04 cm²/m². A favorable outcome was obtained by aortic valve replacement with the 17SJMR. Patients showed improved postoperative hemodynamic performance without valve-related complications.