BACKGROUND Prosthetic valve detachment after aortic valve replacement and pseudoaneurysm formation are the most important postoperative complications in patients with Takayasu arteritis with aortic regurgitation. We reviewed our experience of surgical treatment of aortic regurgitation in patients with Takayasu disease. METHODS Between November 1997 and September 2011, 11 patients (4 women and...

This report describes a patient's self-substitution of nattokinase for the vitamin K antagonist warfarin after aortic valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. Nattokinase is an enzyme derived from a popular fermented soybean preparation in Japan (natto), which has fibrinolytic properties and is gaining popularity in nontraditional health journals and nonmedical health websites as an over...

The rate of redo surgeries are increasing on account of previously performed coronary artery bypass graft surgeries, aortic/ mitral valve replacement surgeries due to valve stenosis/ regurgitation, mitral valve repair for ischemic mitral regurgitation, the aging in the population, mechanical valve thrombosis and wearing out of the mechanical valves.Resternotomy, anterolateral right thoracotomy ...

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is increasingly performed as a minimally invasive treatment option for aortic valve disease. The typical anesthetic management for this procedure was traditionally similar to surgical aortic valve replacement and involved general anesthesia and transesophageal echocardiography. In this review, we discuss the technological advances in transcatheter valve sy...

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has been available to treat aortic valve disease for just over a decade and in that time, its use has expanded rapidly around the world. All transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures depend on having safe remote access to the aortic valve. If femoral access is not feasible or safe, nonfemoral access routes are imperative. This article will discuss ...

THE DEVELOPMENT of mitral and aortic prostheses has allowed surgery for patients with pathology of multiple valves not otherwise correctable.1' 2 Experience with this type of surgery culminated in replacement of the tricuspid, mitral, and aortic valves during one operation in certain patients with severe rheumatic heart disease.3 The present report will describe the hemodynamic findings in eigh...

BACKGROUND Several centers favor replacing a diseased native heart valve with a tissue rather than a mechanical prosthesis, even in younger adult patients. However, long-term data supporting this approach are lacking. We examined the survival implications of selecting a tissue versus a mechanical prosthesis at initial left-heart valve replacement in a cohort of adults <60 years of age who were ...

Between 1980 and 1993, 20 patients less than 1 year of age underwent operations for congenital mitral valve disease. Ten patients had congenital mitral incompetence and 10 had congenital mitral stenosis. Mean age was 6.6 +/- 3.4 months and mean weight was 5.6 +/- 1.5 kg. Atrioventricular canal defects, univentricular heart, class III/IV hypoplastic left heart syndrome, discordant atrioventricul...

In this case we illustrate our experience with transapical minimal invasive aortic valve replacement in a patient who previously underwent mitral valve replacement. The implantation did not interfere with the existing prosthesis and could even be used as a further landmark, helping height positioning of the aortic valve.

As transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become routine, device manufacturers and investigational cardiologists have set their sights on the mitral valve. Although transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) poses several technical challenges, they appear to be surmountable, and work is proceeding. Here we review the various devices being developed and preliminary results of trial...