Postoperative outcomes

Postoperative results are shown in table 3. The average ICU stay was 3.32±3.24 days and the average total hospital stay 7.70±5.82 days. Mean transvalvular gradients were 7.82±3.62 mmHg. 4 patients (2.04%) died, one due to refractory cardiogenic shock, two due to septic shock and multiorgan failure following urgent surgery for native valve endocarditis and one after neurologic complications related to an underlying type A aortic dissection.
The most common immediate postoperative complications over the entire cohort were the need for aminergic support for over 24 hours (45.1%), new-onset atrial fibrillation (21.9%), PPI (12.8%) and significant acute kidney injury (AKI) (10.5%). Less prevalent postoperative complications included infections (10.2%), abnormal bleeding (9.2%), renal replacement support (3.1%), early mortality (2.0%), intra-aortic balloon pump implantation (2.0%) and the need for surgical exploration for bleeding (1.0%).
During follow-up, no structural valve deterioration, strokes, or endocarditis were reported. One patient developed valve thrombosis (0.5%), which was successfully treated with oral anticoagulants. Figure 1 shows the overall Kaplan-Meier cumulative survival curve throughout 5 years. The survival rate at the end of 1 year was 94%, at 3 years 86% and 5 years 71%.
Table 3 – Postoperative outcomes (mean ± SD)