Aortic homograft obstruction.

At the Mayo Clinic from September 1967, to November 1972, 128 patients underwent operations in which an aortic homograft was used to establish right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery continuity. Recently, we studied 18 of these patients who had calcified, obstructed aortic homografts. Seven patients had histories of significant dysrhythmias, all of which required medication and two of which were life threatening. Seventeen of the patients had systemic or suprasystemic pressure in the right ventricle before replacement of the calcified homografts. After placement of the homograft with a Hancock prosthesis, the pressure in the right ventricle of 12 patients was one half the systemic pressure or less. There were no operative deaths, and only 2 patients developed any significant postoperative problems.