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Aortic valve replacement is accepted as a standard treatment for aortic stenosis and regurgitation. To help plan the national requirement for conventional and catheter-based procedures, we have analyzed the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland audit database to look at changes in practice over time.

All patients undergoing conventional aortic valve replacement with or without coronary artery surgery from April 2004 to March 2009 were included. The main outcome measures were changes in the number, characteristics, operative details, and in-hospital mortality. We have looked particularly at trends and outcomes in elderly and high-risk patients (EuroSCORE of 10 or more) who may now be considered for percutaneous aortic valve insertion.

A total of 41,227 patients underwent aortic valve surgery over 5 years with an in-hospital mortality of 4.1%. The …