PATIENT-PROSTHESIS MISMATCH IS A PREVENTABLE DISEASE BUT HOW TO PREVENT
IT IS A STORY NOT YET WRITTEN
Abstract
Large studies demonstrated that moderate or severe patient-prosthesis
mismatch (PPM) occurs in 44.2% to 65% of patients undergoing aortic
valve replacement. If there is general agreement that patients with PPM
have worse outcome than patients without, it is difficult to understand
how to prevent this dangerous complication. The formula used to
calculate the effective orifice area (EOA) of an implanted aortic
prosthesis has many weak points that produce inconsistent results using
the same prosthetic valve (type and size). The observed EOA (3 to 6
months postoperatively) of a #23 biological prosthesis can range from
0.9 to 3.5 cm², making PPM prevention impossible using projected EOA,
where only the mean value is reported (1.83 cm² for the same #23
biological prosthesis). An EACTS-STS-AATS Valve Labelling Task Force has
been established to suggest the manufacturers to present essential
information on valvular prosthesis characteristics in standardized Valve
Charts. For valves used in the aortic position, Valve Charts should
include a standardized PPM chart to assess the probability of PPM after
implantation. This will not solve completely the conundrum of
prevention, but most likely it will be a step ahead.