• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.88-92
• /
• 1991

Although there have been diverse opinions, permanent anticoagulation is generally recommended in children with mechanical valves. We experienced the thrombotic dysfunction of mitral St. Jude Medical valve in a 4-year-old child who had been under control of anticoagulation with warfarin sodium. Besides the primary problems related to the prosthetic mechanism, various patient factors might have contributed to the valve thrombosis. We would emphasize the necessity of anticoagulation and the close observation for valve dysfunction in pediatric patients with St. Jude Medical valve in mitral position.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2015

Background: Mitral regurgitation is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity in pediatric patients with Marfan syndrome. The purpose of this study was to contribute to determining the appropriate surgical strategy for these patients. Methods: From January 1992 to May 2013, six patients with Marfan syndrome underwent surgery for mitral regurgitation in infancy or early childhood. Results: The median age at the time of surgery was 47 months (range, 3 to 140 months) and the median follow-up period was 3.6 years (range, 1.3 to 15.5 years). Mitral valve repair was performed in two patients and four patients underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. There was one reoperation requiring valve replacement for aggravated mitral regurgitation two months after repair. The four patients who underwent mitral valve replacement did not experience any complications related to the prosthetic valve. One late death occurred due to progressive emphysema and tricuspid regurgitation. Conclusion: Although repair can be an option for some patients, it may not be durable in infantile-onset Marfan syndrome patients who require surgical management during infancy or childhood. Mitral valve replacement is a feasible treatment option for these patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 1992

St.Jude Medical cardiac valve replacement was performed in 322 patients: 191 had mitral, 58 had aortic, 72 had double valve and 3 had tricuspid valve replacement. Motality rate in early period was 2.8%[9 patients]. The most common cause of early death was low cardic output syndrome. Follow up extended from 1 to 90 months[mean: 34 months] in 292 patients among 313 in all surviving patients [93.6%]. There were thrombolic complications in eighteen patients. The probability of free from thromboembolism at 5 yerars in MVR, AVR and DVR were 84.7%, 91.8% and 90.2% respectively. And also, actuarial event free rate at 5 years in MVR, AVR and DVR were 80.1%, 82.2%, and 81.4% respectively. There were fourteen late death during follow up period: six from thromboembolism, one from hemorrhage and the others from non valve related -or unknown complications. The acturial survival rate at 5 years were 93.1% in mitral, 92.1% in aortic and 97.1% in double valve replacement. In conclusion, the performance of the St. Jude Mecanical valve compares most favorably with other artificial valves. But it remains still hazards of mechanical prosthesis such as thromboembolism and anticoagulant related hemorrhage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.393-401
• /
• 1989

Between Dec. 1984, and May, 1988,96 prostheses were implanted in 80 patients at Dept. of Thoracic k Cardiovascular Surgery of National Medical Center. 43 patients had mitral valve replacement, 21 underwent aortic valve replacement, and 15 had double valve replacement [Mitral k Aortic], and 1 had tricuspid valve replacement. Seventy-one cases [88.8 %] were in NYHA Class III or IV. The mean duration of follow up was 22.1 months and follow-up information was available for 74 [92.5 %] of the patients. The overall actuarial survival rate at 45 months was 93.05 % and overall hospital mortality was 10 %, late Mortality was 5 %. The linearlized incidence of thromboembolism [2.4%/pt-yr], thrombotic valve obstruction [1.6 %/pt-yr], anticoagulant related bleeding [0.8 %/pt-yr]. There were no fatal valve related complications. The blood was studied in 40 patients 1 year after valve operation. Hgb and reticulocyte count were within normal values and Serum LDH value was slightly elevated but it was not of clinical significance. In conclusion, Monostrut Bjork-Shiley valve prosthesis to be a reliable valve substitute with an acceptable incidence of complications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.26 no.10
• /
• pp.753-760
• /
• 1993

The CarboMedics valve is a bileaflet prosthesis with excellent hemodynamic characteristics, but the long term surgical experience with this valve, its durability and its biocompatibility are unknown. During a 5 year period from october 1988 to July 1993, 748 prostheses [402 mitral, 261 aortic, 58 tricuspid, 27 pulmonic] were inserted in 552 patients [mean age 40.2 years]. The operative mortality was 6.6% [37/560, 13.2% in age group below 15 years and 5.7% above 15 years]. and the main causes of death were complex congenital malformation and left ventricular failure. Follow up was totaled 1182 patient- years and mean follow up was 28.3 months/patient. No structural failure has been observed. Hemorrhage was the most frequent valve related complication[1.78% / Patient-year]. Embolism occurred at a rate of 0.93% / Patient-year. There were 5 cases of valve thrombosis [0.42% / Patient-year, two fatal]. There occurred 11 late deaths[6 valve related] and 42 valve related complications. Actuarial survival at 5 years is 97.18 0.94% and actuarial complication free survival at 5 years is 89.07 1.54%. In summary, the CarboMedics valve stands for a durable valve substitute, with low valve related complications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.858-861
• /
• 1994

Prosthetic valve thrombosis is rare but it is one of fatal complication after heart valve surgery. Improvements of the valve design and the material have decreased the frequency of thrombosis but have not eliminated completely. And some cases of prosthetic valve thrombosis during pregnancy were reported inspite of adequate anticoagulation therapy.Urgent surgical intervention is indicated for prosthetic valve thrombosis but it is associated with high operative risk, therefore medical thrombolytic therapy such as urokinase or streptokinase therapy is regarded as an alternative therapy. This is a case report of the successful thrombolytic therapy for valve thrombosis in a pregnant patient after mechanical mitral valve replacement.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.28 no.9
• /
• pp.817-821
• /
• 1995

The CarboMedics Medical valve has become our mechanical valvular prosthesis of choice because of favorable hemodynamic results that associated with marked clinical improvement and low incidence of thromboembolism after it,s uses. The data for this study was collected from August 1988 to July 1993,five years period. There were total of 57 patients[female 40,male 17 in this series with 4 isolated aortic valve,26 isolated mitral valve,11 double valve and a triple valve replacement. The mean follow up time was 32 months. Postoperatively,58% of cases were in New York Heart Association[NYHA functional class I,and mild and moderate symptoms[NYHA class II were present in 36% and there were very few patients remaining in higher functional classes. In postoperative echocardiographic study, showed marked improved cardiac function. The overall early mortality was 3.5% and the late mortality was one case after triple valve replacement due to sudden death. The causes of early death were attributed to early prosthetic valve endocarditis and heart failure.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.1122-1131
• /
• 1995

One hundred eighty-eight patients[August.23,1988,through July.30,1994 underwent aortic[AVR , mitral[MVR , or double [DVR valve replacement with the St.Jude Medical prosthesis. The author analyzed 100 patients with valvular heart disease,who underwent valve replacement with the St.Jude Medical prothesis from 1990 to 1994, at Hanyang University hospital Cardiovascular department. Information on volume and functional change of the heart chamber can be obtained by cardiac echocardiography and cartheterization. Out of 100 patients, 40 patients were male[40% and 60 patients were female [60% . Age ranged from 13 years to 68 years, with mean age of 42.6 years. Mean height was 160.3cm and mean body weight was 54.9Kg. According to NYHA functional classification, class III is most frequent and 60 patients could be classfied under it. MVR [involved Redo MVR was performed in 40 patients, AVR [involved Redo AVR was performed in 18 patients, and DVR [involved Redo DVR was performed in 42 patients. Warfarin [Coumadin anticoagulation was recommended for all patients. Life long warfarin anticoagulation was necessary to all patients who underwent valve replacement with St.Jude Medical prosthesis. Ideal prothrombin time was maintained about 30% during warfarinization. There were no case of mechanical failure. It followed a comparison of echocardiography before and after valve replacement at Hanyang University hospital [30 patients and a preoperative evaluation of cardiac catheterization and angiography [64 patients . The St.Jude Medical cardiac valve is a viable alternative in the surgical therapy of valvular heart disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.114-121
• /
• 1994

St. Jude Medical cardiac valve replacement was performed in 135 consecutive patients from Aug.1986 to Dec. 1991.72 had mitral, 28 had aortic, 1 had tricuspid and 34 had double valve replacement. The hospital mortality rate was 4.4% & the late mortality rate was 3.7 %. Follow-up was done on 115 surviving patients:mean follow-up period was 29.78 $\pm$ 18.32 months. Paravalvular leakage was observed in two patients, possible prosthetic valvular endocarditis wasobserved in one patient and other specific valve-related complications were none. The overall actuarial survival rate at 6 years were 91.6% in total, 96.4% in aortic, 95.5 % in mitral and 81.9 % in double valve replacement.We concluded, therefore that good clinical results and a low complication rate could be achieved with St. Jude Medical valve in short-term follow-up & long-term follow-up was also necessary.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.195-202
• /
• 1973

Two patients were admitted with chief complaints of exertional dyspnea and palpitation respectively. Physical examination showed Grade III and Grade II to III systolic rumbling murmur at apex in each case. Chest X-ray and EKG findings were compatible with mitral insufficiency in both cases. The diseased valves were replaced with Beall mitral valve prosthesis under cardiopulmonary bypass using hemodilution technic. The first patient died of asphyxia due to tracheomalacia complicated after tracheostomy 3 months after operation and the 2nd patient was discharged in good condition one month after operation-Autopsy of the 1st patient showed no thrombus formation, no disc variance, and good epithelization of valve cuffs. In the second case clinical improvement was remarkable with decreased heart size.