From March 1981 to March 1988, 2324 bioprostheses were implanted in 2016 patients in 5 centers in the State of Minas Gerais. This study includes only the analysis of patients undergoing isolated aortic (n = 603) or mitral (n = 1110) valve replacement. The hospital mortality in this group (n = 1713) was 104 patients (6.1%). From the remaining 1609 patients, that were discharged from the hospital, we were able to obtain a follow-up in 1101 or 64.3%. This analysis related to a period ranging from 1 to 84 months, mean = 48 and a cumulative follow-up in the aortic group (n = 385) equal to 1230 patients/year; the mitrals (n = 716) equal to 3018 patients/year. There were 102 late complications in 716 patients (14.24) and 51 in the aortic group (13.2). In relation to the age or the patients, 220 were under 20 years of age (mitrals = 176/aortics = 44) and in this subgroup the intrinsic valve failure was 43% of the mitral patients and 29% of the aortic group. The prosthetic endocardite was more frequent in the aortic group (45%) in compararison with the mitrals (29.7%). There were 62 reoperations in 1101 patients, with hospital mortality of 12.6%. The reoperations were more frequent in the mitral group, in patients below 20 years of age. Survival, considering only deaths related to the bioprosthesis, was 97.1% (32/1101). In the aortic group, 96.9% of patients were free of valve disfunction at the end of 7 years; among the mitrals, 95.2%. The major incidence of valve failure was encountered in the mitral patients, below 20 years of age; 85.3% were free of this complication at 7 years of follow-up. At the end of this study, the majority of the alive patients was functional classes I and II of the NYHA. Although the incidence of reoperation is significant, these findings are acceptable, specially because bioprosthesis offers a safer alternative than mechanical prosthesis. The present results suggest the continuation of research to obtain the ideal bioprosthesis, although current data is comparable to results abtained with similar bioprosthesis in the world literature.
heart valves; heart valves prostheses; heart valves