From October 1989 to May 1997, 40 patients with aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm, aortic coarctation or aorto-iliac occlusive disease, underwent reconstruction of their aorta using crimped bovine pericardial conduits processed in glutaraldehyde. Total reconstruction of ascending thoracic aorta and aortic valve with reimplantation of coronary arteries was performed in 9 patients, single ascending thoracic aorta in 6, descending thoracic aorta in 2, aortic arch in 1, thoracoabdominal aorta in 1 and the abdominal aorta was reconstructed in 21, also including patients undergoing aortoiliac or aortofemoral bypass. Hospital mortality was 20% (8 patients) and causes of death were low cardiac output, recurrence of aortic dissection, multiple organ failure and bleeding. Total follow-up was 128.4 patient-years with a mean follow-up of 4 years per patient. Late complications related to the conduit were observed in 4 patients, including a limb obstruction in 1 patient subjected to aorto-femoral bypass and infection in 3, resulting in pseudoaneurysm. All of them underwent reoperations, corresponding to an incidence of 3.1% ± 1.6% per patient-year. There were 5 late deaths and the causes were sudden death, coronary artery disease, pneumonia, septicemia, and metabolic complications of diabetes and renal failure, corresponding to an incidence of 3.9% ± 1.7% per patient-year. The 9-year actuarial survival was 61.5% ± 9.2%, including the surgical mortality, and the 9-year actuarial freedom from conduit failure due to primary tissue structural degeneration was 100%. The crimping design, similar to that used for synthetic vascular prosthesis, provides a circular tube which makes the construction of the anastomosis easier, retains its shape with bending and avoids kinking. The pericardium is very soft, easy to handle and suture, coapts nicely to suture lines resulting in a hemostatic anastomosis. The 9-year follow-up demonstrated a satisfactory performance, without any evidence of fibrosis, calcification or aneurysmal dilatation.
Heart valve prosthesis; Bioprosthesis; Blood vessel prosthesis; Aortic aneurysm; Aneurysm
