Aortic Valvular Surgery

TWO AND A HALF years have now elapsed since we performed our first successful prosthetic replacement for severe aortic regurgitation. During this time, 115 patients with severe aortic regurgitation and/ or calcific stenosis have had operative correction by means of artificial valves. This presentation is a review of the patients who presented themselves for operation, the surgical management, and the results. An analysis of the preoperative status of 58 patients with pure aortic regurgitation and 28 patients with calcific stenosis who had valvular replacement was made to clarify operative indication and patient-selection in the future. Patients with more than one valve involved, or in whom the preoperative findings were incomplete, were eliminated from this analysis. The status of 40 patients followed from 6 to 30 months after operation was evaluated for comparison with their preoperative condition.