The replacement of a severely stenosed mitral valve with an aortic valve taken from a cadaver is reported by surgeons at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.
The patient is a woman whose mitral valve chamber was too constricted by disease to permit use of an artificial prosthesis, Earle B. Kay, MD, chief of the Department of Cardiology, told JAMAMedical News.
The operation was performed March 21, using an aortic valve from the hospital tissue bank. The patient has had a normal, uncomplicated convalescence.
Homograft Replacement
Homograft replacement of the aortic valve with one taken from a cadaver has been frequently done in recent years in Canada and Great Britain (JAMAMedical News197:21 [Dec. 27] 1965)."Artificial valves work well, except in patients where prolonged obstruction has severely constricted the valve area," Dr. Kay