Reoperation for Starr-Edwards Ball Valve Insufficiency 21 Years after Replacement.

Abstract

A 51-year-old woman, who had undergone mitral valve replacement with the Starr-Edwards ball valve 21 years ago, was hospitalized with cardiac failure. Preoperative cineangiograms showed delay of the ball movement during the early diastolic phase. Re-replacement of the mitral prosthetic valve with a CarboMedics prosthetic valve and tricuspid annuloplasty was successfully performed. The postoperative period after the initial implantation of the Starr-Edwards ball valve is the longest among patients reported in Japan. The cause of prosthetic valve insufficiency may have been granulomatous hyperplasia on the valve seat.

Replacement of an Aortic Starr-Edwards Ball Valve Prosthesis 28 Years After Implantation

“…6 However, other authors have reported significant chronic hemolysis, thromboembolism, variance of the silastic ball and tissue ingrowth of the paravalvular area. 2,3 In the present case, although the preoperative echocardiogram showed that the aortic S-E valve prosthesis that had been implanted 28 years previously was functioning normally, prophylactic replacement was perfomed at the same time as the mitral valve replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting and TAP. Grunkemeier and Starr suggested that prophylactic reoperation for S-E bare strut ball valves is not indicated in the current subset, 2 and Lund et al reported that S-E aortic ball valves, including the currently available silastic ball valves, are durable for the remaining life span of the patients who can expect near normal ageand sex-specific survival.…”

Aberrant right coronary artery in a grown up congenital cardiac patient, successfully treated 46 years earlier with a double Starr-Edwards silastic ball valve replacement: a case report

“…McGoon et al reported that these prostheses implants were durable over a prolonged follow-up period, while thromboembolism remained a persistent problem [5]. Different kind of complications have been reported including haemolytic anaemia, valve dysfunction caused by granulomatous hyperplasia, degeneration or lipid infiltration of the silicon ball and wearing out of the cloth cover [6,7].…”