Serial Doppler echocardiographic evaluation of Carpentier-Edwards pericardial valve dysfunction: Comparison with Ionescu-Shiley valve, ,

Background: Doppler echocardiography is a valuable noninvasive method for evaluating of the occurrence and degree of either prosthetic valve stenosis or regurgitation. By using serial Doppler echocardiographic examination, we evaluated the incidence and the mode of the Carpentier-Edwards pericardial valve (CEPX) dysfunction compared with that of the Ionescu-Shiley valve (IS). Methods and Results: After aortic and/or mitral valve replacement, 80 patients with CEPX and 111 with IS underwent Doppler echocardiography at intervals of at least 2 years after surgery. The average durations of follow-up were 6.1 ± 2.9 years for patients with CEPX and 7.2 ± 3.0 years for those with IS. Bioprosthetic valve stenosis was defined as reduced excursion of the bioprosthetic valve leaflets and peak gradient ≥60 mm Hg after aortic valve replacement and mean gradient ≥7 mm Hg after mitral valve replacement. Bioprosthetic valve regurgitation caused by bioprosthetic valve dysfunction was defined as grade ≥3 transvalvular regurgitation. In the aortic position, although there was no significant difference in the actuarial rate of freedom from bioprosthetic valve stenosis between patients with IS and those with CEPX (10 years after surgery, 88% ± 7% vs 90%, NS), bioprosthetic regurgitation caused by bioprosthetic valve dysfunction occurred less frequently in patients with CEPX than in those with IS (10 years after surgery, 86% vs 54% ± 9%, p < 0.05). In the mitral position, bioprosthetic valve stenosis occurred more frequently in patients with CEPX than in those with IS (10 years after surgery, 54% ± 11% vs 72% ± 8%, p < 0.01). Although grade ≥3 transvalvular bioprosthetic regurgitation occurred later in patients with CEPX than in those with IS, there was no significant difference in the actuarial rate of freedom from that regurgitation between patients with CEPX and those with IS (10 years after surgery, 63% ± 10% vs 54% ± 7%, NS). Conclusions: For aortic valve replacement, CEPX has good long-term durability because of the low incidence of bioprosthetic regurgitation. For mitral valve replacement, long-term durability of CEPX is poor, although medium-term durability is satisfactory. (Am Heart J 1998;135:1086-92.)