Edwards valve in the aortic position

[Ron Danahy]

I have an ATS 3F model 1000 that was put in Dec 09 and is now in need of replacement.

I am leaning heavy on the idea of going with a mechanical valve this time due to such an early failure of my current valve.

VA is ready to proceed with the surgery as soon as next week. They want to use an Edwards valve.

Others have suggested TAVI.
I'm not so sure I like this idea

Any one have any personal experience with the Edwards mechanical they can share with me

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Ron, I saw your post and was wondering if you knew which Edwards valve was being recommended. To the best of my knowledge, Edwards doesn't make a mechanical valve anymore but I certainly could have missed something. They do make bovine pericardial valves including the Sapien which is the Edwards trans-catheter valve. Valves such as mine are essentially an artificial ring (stent) with three leaflets made from the pericardium of calves. I can only tell you that my surgeon recommended it and since surgery it has worked wonderfully well.

Edwards recently published the results of a 20 year follow up of the early generations of the Perimount valve. Essentially, they find that when emplanted in patients 60-69 years of age that there is an excellent expectation of getting at least 20 years of service. You can read the results at:

http://ht.edwards.com/resourcegallery/products/heartvalves/pdfs/durability_ar00785.pdf

Larry

 

[dick0236]

........They want to use an Edwards valve.
..............Any one have any personal experience with the Edwards mechanical they can share with me

I also thought Edwards stopped marketing mechanical valves around 2007. However, I have a marketing booklet that states the models 1260 and 6120 "Silastic Ball Valves" where still available in 2005. Their "ball valve" was the first commercially available valve and went into use in 1960/61.

To answer your question, I have had one of their mechanical valves since 1967 without any durability issues.

 

[clay_from_nj]

Ron, in the US at least, I think that unless you are considered a poor candidate for OHS (as in low risk of survival) you won't be able to get a TAVI. From you other posts, it looks like you are 50ish, so with any tissue valve you are probably looking at one more replacement in the future. TAVI might give you the means to avoid another OHS, but it's not sure yet. Barring any contraindications, you should be able to get your choice of valve, mechanical or tissue, without a problem. If your surgeon has a particular preference, you should definitely find out why. The choice ultimately (usually), comes down to your personal preference and how it will affect your quality of life.

 

[pellicle]

I am leaning heavy on the idea of going with a mechanical valve this time due to such an early failure of my current valve.

I would suggest going with the top sellers, long data history and experience with handling and implanting successfully.
that would be (in no particular order)
St Jude
ATS (Medtronic now)
On-X (our site sponsor)

personally I'd pick one which was a pyrolytic carbon 3rd generation model (such as all listed above)

dunno if this link helps
http://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/.../mechanical-aortic-valve-replacement-options/

best wishes

 

[epstns]

Another thing to consider is which valve(s) your surgeon has the most experience with. If you choose from the surgeon's most-often-used valves, they will have more experience at getting them implanted quickly and well. If they are new to your chosen valve, they may miss some of the nuances of its implantation or may take longer to finish the surgery.

If you are really lucky, you may be able to have as your surgeon one of the members of the team that developed your valve. They know a lot more than usual about how best to implant their brainchild.

 

[epstns]

Edwards recently published the results of a 20 year follow up of the early generations of the Perimount valve. Essentially, they find that when emplanted in patients 60-69 years of age that there is an excellent expectation of getting at least 20 years of service. You can read the results at:

http://ht.edwards.com/resourcegallery/products/heartvalves/pdfs/durability_ar00785.pdf

Larry

Larry - Thanks for the citation. It sure makes me feel better about having "MOO" as my aortic valve. I'm planning on running it well past the 20 year point (implanted at age 63).

 

[Mentu]

TAVR in Failed Bioprostheses; The valve-in-valve approach

TAVR in Failed Bioprostheses; The valve-in-valve approach

Ron & Steve, my surgeon, Dr James Spann, is very interested in the development of new devices. There was one other thing he told me. He says that one of Edwards' goals is to mount a TAVR inside or on the Perimount valve should the leaflets fail; it was one of the reasons he recommended this particular valve to me. This procedure is called Valve-In-Valve [VIV]. It was first performed in 2007 in Canada and Germany in a variety of bioprosthetic aortic valve types including our friend the Perimount. As this procedure is improved, it should be able to extend the life of bioprosthetic valves without OHS. If you would like more details, here is a link to a recent article:

TAVR in Failed Bioprostheses; The valve-in-valve approach
"Cardiac Interventions Today" September/October 2013

http://citoday.com/2013/10/tavr-in-failed-bioprostheses

You can download the PDF with the article along with pictures here:

http://citoday.com/pdfs/cit0913_F2_Dvir.pdf

MMMOOOOO!

Larry