Background and aim of the study: The study aim was to evaluate the clinical and hemodynamic performance of the Sorin Soprano bioprosthesis in the aortic position.
Methods: Rest and stress echocardiography were performed at six months after surgery in 57 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with the stented Soprano bioprosthesis. The exercise protocol included workloads of 25, 50, 75 and 100 W, each of 2 min duration.
Results: Thirty-day mortality was 1.8% (n = 1). Due to malperfusion of the coronary arteries, two Soprano prostheses had to be replaced by a different prosthesis, and one patient received coronary artery bypass grafts. One patient developed bacterial endocarditis of his prosthesis at seven months postoperatively and died as a result of a fulminant sepsis. There were no other prosthesis-related adverse events.

Mean pressure gradients (MPG) ranged from 7.8 to 15.9 mmHg, effective orifice areas (EOA) from 1.25 to 2.98 cm2, EOA index (EOAI) from 0.79 to 1.43 cm2/m2, and EOA fraction from 34 to 45%. Stress echocardiography showed no significant increase in MPG up to 50 W, and MPGs did not exceed 35 mmHg at 75 and 100 W.
Conclusion: Initial hemodynamic results showed low MPGs during rest and exercise. The EOAI was large due to completely supra-annular placement of the Soprano valve. The difficulty of complete supra-annular placement is that the prosthesis is positioned relatively high, especially in narrow aortic roots, and this may handicap coronary artery perfusion. Patient selection with suitable aortic root anatomy is crucial to achieve the benefit of completely supra-annular implantation without coronary ostium deterioration.

The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2005;14:822-827