New thesis on morbidity and mortality after surgical aortic valve replacement
Natalie Glaser from the group Thoracic Surgery will defend her thesis "Prosthetic aortic heart valves" on September 14, 2018. Main Supervisor is Ulrik Sartipy.
What's the main focus of your thesis?
The main focus of my thesis is morbidity and mortality after surgical aortic valve replacement with different types of aortic valve prostheses.
Which are the most important results?
- Patients aged 50-69 years who underwent aortic valve replacement with mechanical valve prostheses had better long-term survival than patients who underwent surgery with biological valve prostheses. These results are important because the use of biological valve prostheses has increased in all age-groups during the last decade.
- Infections affecting implanted aortic valve prostheses, so called prosthetic valve endocarditis, is a complication with high mortality. We found a yearly incidence of prosthetic valve endocarditis of 0.57% after surgical aortic valve replacement. Prosthetic valve endocarditis was more common among patients who underwent surgery with biological compared to mechanical valve prostheses.
- Patients with moderately reduced kidney function had worse long-term survival after surgical aortic valve replacement than patients with normal kidney function. These patients therefore warrant careful observation after surgery.
- Patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with biological prostheses made from both bovine and porcine tissue had good survival after surgery. We also found good clinical outcomes after aortic valve replacement with both the Perimount (made from bovine tissue) and the Mosaic (made from porcine tissue) valve prostheses.
How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people’s health?
The results from our studies can be used to guide prosthesis-selection in certain patient-groups. Our studies also contribute to improved general knowledge about different types of aortic valve prostheses and complications after aortic valve replacement. This is important for prediction of prognosis, to identify risk factors for worse outcomes, and to optimize care following surgery.
What are your future ambitions?
I want to continue with cardiovascular research to improve the health care of patients with heart disease. The aim is to do this while continuing to work clinically as a future specialist in cardiology.
Dissertation
Friday September 14th, 2018 at 09:00, Nanna Svartz J3:12, Eugeniavägen 3/Solnavägen 30 Karolinska University Hospital