OBJECTIVES This study was undertaken to investigate time trends in early mortality, morbidity and clinical characteristics of patients undergoing heart valve surgery over the last decade. METHODS A regional, prospectively collected, study comprising all patients (2,327) undergoing valve surgery in a defined geographical area from January 1990 to December 1999 was conducted. Data were collecte...

Possible aetiological factors, presentation, and management were reviewed in 18 patients with posterior left ventricular rupture complicating mitral valve replacement seen at one centre over six and a half years. The patients were elderly (mean age 57), predominantly women (16 of the 18), and suffering from mitral stenosis. Rupture was much more common after isolated replacement of the mitral v...

Proper education and notification of patients undergoing heart valve replacement is of paramount importance. The past decade has witnessed a growing interest in the use of modern, advanced technologies in medicine and patient education. This study aimed to introduce an education-notification application for patients undergoing heart valve replacement. Research was carried out in two phases of s...

Rupture of the left ventricular wall after mitral valve replacement is an infrequent but lethal complication. Reporting correction technique of ventricular rupture with bovine pericardium patch secured with glue and without suturing: a 51 years-old female patient, with double rheumatic mitral lesion, severe stenosis and discrete insufficiency, who had a mitral valve replacement. During surgery,...