Unexpected durability of a Björk-Shiley first-generation aortic valve after 40 years of implantation.

The case is reported of a patient who underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) in 1969 and received a (first-generation) Björk-Shiley Delrin valve. Forty years later, the patient presented to the authors' hospital in congestive heart failure and with echocardiographic evidence of severe stenosis and mild aortic regurgitation. The patient underwent a redo sternotomy and AVR with a bioprosthesis. On gross examination, the explanted 40-year-old mechanical valve appeared intact.