Heart valve surgery in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome: analysis of a series of nine cases.

OBJECTIVE Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a rare coagulation disorder associated with recurrent arterial and venous thrombotic events. Heart valve abnormalities are commonly found in patients with APS. METHODS From March 1998 to March 2007, nine patients with APS underwent heart valve surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. We retrospectively reviewed their clinical data, operative and postoperative courses and the long-term results. RESULTS The mean age was 43.6+/-10.4 years, six were female and three male. Four patients underwent mitral valve replacement, three went through aortic valve replacement, one underwent combined mitral-aortic valve replacement and another aortic valve plasty. The syndrome was primary in seven patients and associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in two. Follow-up was 8 days to 8 years (median 66 months). Two patients died in the early postoperative period: both due to an acute cerebrovascular accident. Four patients presented an uneventful late postoperative course. One patient experienced an ischaemic stroke 5 years after mitral valve replacement (MVR) and developed refractory congestive heart failure requiring heart transplantation three years postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Heart valve surgery in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome may carry considerable early and late mortality and morbidity. Thrombo-embolic complications are the most common complications. Mechanical prostheses have been used at our Institution in the previous years; however, today, after reviewing our historical results, we reconsider our general strategy and believe that tissue heart valve prostheses are the possible ideal substitutes, minimising the risks of morbidity and mortality due to the hypercoagulable state of APS.