HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Andrea Colli Carlos A. Mestres Jose L. Pomar Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Colli, A. Articles by Cervera, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Colli, A. Articles by Cervera, R. Related Collections Valve disease

Heart valve surgery in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome: analysis of a series of nine cases

^a Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain
^b Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

Received 9 February 2009; received in revised form 26 June 2009; accepted 29 June 2009.

^_* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 93 2275749; fax: +34 93 2275749. (Email: cmestres{at}clinic.ub.es).

Objective: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a rare coagulation disorder associated with recurrent arterial and venous thrombotic events. Heart valve abnormalities are commonly found in patients with APS. Methods: From March 1998 to March 2007, nine patients with APS underwent heart valve surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. We retrospectively reviewed their clinical data, operative and postoperative courses and the long-term results. Results: The mean age was 43.6 ± 10.4 years, six were female and three male. Four patients underwent mitral valve replacement, three went through aortic valve replacement, one underwent combined mitral–aortic valve replacement and another aortic valve plasty. The syndrome was primary in seven patients and associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in two. Follow-up was 8 days to 8 years (median 66 months). Two patients died in the early postoperative period: both due to an acute cerebrovascular accident. Four patients presented an uneventful late postoperative course. One patient experienced an ischaemic stroke 5 years after mitral valve replacement (MVR) and developed refractory congestive heart failure requiring heart transplantation three years postoperatively. Conclusions: Heart valve surgery in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome may carry considerable early and late mortality and morbidity. Thrombo-embolic complications are the most common complications. Mechanical prostheses have been used at our Institution in the previous years; however, today, after reviewing our historical results, we reconsider our general strategy and believe that tissue heart valve prostheses are the possible ideal substitutes, minimising the risks of morbidity and mortality due to the hypercoagulable state of APS.

Key Words: Antiphospholipid syndrome • Valvular heart disease • Systemic lupus erythematosus