Low profile Liotta bioprosthesis: late follow-up.

A method for supporting the porcine valve was devised to approximate more closely the normal porcine anatomy. This mounting technique resulted in a low profile valve with a greater valve orifice and a lower transvalvular gradient than other porcine bioprostheses (Liotta BioImplant L.P.B., BioImplant, Canada, Inc). There were 297 valves implanted in 279 patients operated on from November 1978 through December 1981. Of these, there were 132 aortic valve replacements (AVR), 129 mitral valve replacements (MVR), and 18 double valve replacements (DVR). The actuarial curve at 72 months showed a late patient survival of 78.48% +/- 5.68% for AVR, 86.27% +/- 4.3% for MVR, and 77.78% +/- 12.2% for DVR. Of these, 93.6% of the AVR patients and 81% of the MVR patients remained in the New York Heart Association Class I postoperatively.