Publication about the first ten years of clinical experience with decellularized homografts for pulmonary valve replacement / Patient inclusion to the ESPOIR clinical trial

Surgeons, cardiologists and pediatric cardiologists from Hannover Medical School/Germany and the University Hospital in Chisinau/Moldavia have published the clinical experience derived from ten years of clinical experience using decellularized homografts (DPH) for pulmonary valve replacement. In their recent publication within the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic-Surgery in March 2016 the researchers report conclusions drawn from a matched comparison to conventional cryopreserved homografts and bovine jugular vein conduits. Midterm results of DPH for pulmonary valve replacement confirmed earlier results of reduced re-operation rates compared to the other valve prostheses. At 10 years freedom of explantation was 100 % for DPH.

Meanwhile the prospective European trial on the use of DPH for  pulmonary valve replacement has included 61 patients with 12 further DPH implantations scheduled.

93 futher patients have been included to the ESPOIR Registry, thereby ensuring 100 % follow-up for continued evaluation of this new technology.