Surgical treatment of valvular heart disease. Part VI. Aortic valve surgery

Aortic valve replacement can be readily accomplished either with a prosthetic valve or a homo- or heterograft placed in the subcoronary position. The operative mortality rate of all procedures is under fifteen per cent. Complications of thrombosis, embolization, and ball variance have plagued the prosthetic ball valve. Fibrosis of valve leaflets, calcification, and late stenosis and insufficiency of the homo- and heterografts have been reported. The ideal aortic valve replacement has not yet been devised, but very satisfactory clinical relief of aortic valve disease is now possible with either prosthetic or grafted valves.