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Ann Thorac Surg 2007;84:465-466
© 2007 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Maryland, N4W94 22 S Greene St, Baltimore, MD 21201
(Email: rposton@smail.umaryland.edu).
| The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below. |
The decision to implant a bioprosthetic in patients older than 65 to 70 years of age is based on the premise that the risk of anticoagulation-related complications exceeds the risk of future valve deterioration. Improvements in valve design, a more sedentary lifestyle, and limited life expectancy after surgery suggest that the risk of needing a reoperation for valve deterioration is low in the elderly.
The excellent outcomes for patients older than 70 years of age, given mechanical valves as demonstrated by Vicchio and colleagues [1], challenge this standard of care. Greater than 70% of their patients were alive at 15 years,
Related Article
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2007 84: 459-465.
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