Clinical comparison of St. Jude and porcine aortic valve prostheses.

One hundred eighty-seven consecutive patients who had aortic valve replacement with either a St. Jude or porcine heterograft prosthesis were studied prospectively. The two groups were similar with respect to 67 clinical and operative factors, which allowed comparison of valve performance as an independent variable. Total follow-up was 6162 patient-months (mean 32 months, range 23 to 62, 99% complete). There were no statistical differences in symptomatic improvement or mortality by life-table analysis. Valve-related complications expressed as percent per patient-year included: reoperation, 0.6 St. Jude and 1.2 porcine; endocarditis, 1.1 and 0.9; regurgitant murmur, 3.4 and 2.7; hemolysis, 2.8 and 0.0; thromboembolism, 2.8 and 1.5 (all not significant); and hemorrhage, 7.9 and 2.4 (p less than .005). Anticoagulant-related bleeding was the only significant difference between the two valves in morbidity and mortality 32 to 34 months after operation.