More questions raised about prosthetic valves
Two pathologists from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital of Philadelphia have called for a reevaluation of the use of certain prosthetic heart valves.
They said reassessment of rigid prostheses such as the Starr-Edwards valves may be necessary because of deleterious tissue changes and vegetative overgrowth which they found during autopsies on patients with these valves in the aortic position.
Their findings were presented at a joint meeting of the American College of Pathologists and American Society of Clinical Pathologists. The value of rigid prostheses in the replacement of diseased heart valves is also scheduled for discussion during the American College of Surgeons annual meeting which begins today in Chicago.
During the past three years, Alexander Nedwich, MD, and Karl Koiwai, MD, both associate professors of pathology, performed post-mortem examinations on 31 patients who had undergone valve replacement.
Twelve of these patients displayed vegetative
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