My doctors have told me that there is little reason for mechanical valves to "wear out" and my docs felt my valve will still be clicking when I draw my last breath. My valve was implanted when I was 31 and it will be 55 years old in about three weeks......Aug, 16. Alas, that also means I am naturally getting "old" and at my current age of 86.5 (well beyond life expectancy), I am sure that something, probably Cardiovascular in nature, will "take me out" in the not too distant future.
Also, remember that open heart surgery is a fairly new surgery with the first being a gentleman in 1961 who lived 12 years.......and then died when he fell off a roof doing some repairs. I imagine that Chuck may be "right on" when he projects the life of a mechanical valve to be 100 years.......now we just have to figure out a way for the rest of the body to last that long.
