A recent publication in the journal of Cell and Tissue Banking analyzed the results of a matched comparison of decellularized pulmonary homografts (DPH) and bovine jugular vein (BJV) conduits for pulmonary valve replacement in congenital heart disease with more than 300 patients in each group.
Bobylev et al showed that the rate of freedom from endocarditis was significantly lower for BJV patients (87.1 vs. 96.5%, p=0.006). Freedom from explantation was significantly lower for BJV at 10 years (81.7 vs. 95.5%, p = 0.001) as well as freedom from any significant degeneration at 10 years (39.6 vs. 65.4%, p<0.001). 140 Patients, matched for age, heart defect type, prior procedures, and conduit sizes of 20–22 mm (± 2 mm), were compared separately; mean age BJV 8.7 (4.9) and DPH 9.5 (7.3) years (p=n.s.). DPH showed 20% higher freedom from explantation and degeneration in this subgroup (p=0.232).
The authors concluded that decellularized pulmonary homografts exhibit superior 10-year results to bovine jugular vein conduits in PVR.
The full text of this publication can be found here Open Access:
https://rdcu.be/c7DF9
