Patients and Operative Data
During the observational period of the study, 115 consecutive patients underwent Perceval-S valve implantation in our institution and 103 were included in the present study. The 12 excluded patients (10%) were emergency situations (n = 5, including four patients with endocarditis) and combined surgery other than AVR plus CABG (n = 7, including three AVR plus mitral, two AVR plus tricuspid and three AVR plus mitral and tricuspid procedures). Preoperative data are reported in Table 1. Fifty-seven patients (55%) underwent isolated AVR, of which 17 (30%) were performed via ministernotomy. The other 46 patients (45%) underwent combined surgery with CABG (mean anastomoses 1.9). Mean CPB times were 59.3 ± 45.4 min and 89.2 ± 43.5 min, and aortic cross-clamp times were 39.4 ± 24.2 min and 69.0 ± 35.6 min in isolated AVR and combined procedures, respectively.