Mortality and reoperation rate of biological versus mechanical Bentall-De Bono operation: a propensity-matched study

Objective: To assess follow-up mortality and reoperation rate in patients undergoing Bentall-De Bono operation according to the type of composite valve graft used. Methods: All consecutive adult patients operated on between May 1997 and December 2019 at our institution were included in the analysis and classified according to the use of a biological or a mechanical composite valve graft (bCVG or mCVG). The primary outcomes were follow-up mortality and reoperation rate. Secondary outcomes were operative mortality and major adverse events (MAEs) including operative mortality, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, dialysis, tracheostomy, and re-exploration for bleeding. Kaplan-Meier and competing risk analyses were used. Propensity matching analysis was used to balance differences in baseline characteristics between procedures. Results: Of 1,210 included patients, 798 received a bCVG and 412 a mCVG. The mean follow-up was 6.64 ± 0.21 years. The ten-year mortality rate was higher in the mCVG group (25.3% vs. 16.4%, P = 0.023). The ten-year reoperation rate was higher in the bCVG group (7.4% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.001). Overall operative mortality was 0.7%, and MAEs occurred in 6.2% of patients, with no significant differences between groups. Older age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI: 1.04-1.08], P < 0.01), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR 1.63, 95%CI: [1.01-2.64], P = 0.04), preoperative renal dysfunction (HR 3.08, 95%CI: [1.98-4.78], P < 0.001), New York Heart Association Class III/IV (HR 1.48, 95%CI: [1.04-2.10], P = 0.031), and mCVG (HR 2.15, 95%CI: [1.42-3.26], P < 0.001) were associated with higher risk of follow-up mortality. After propensity matching, the differences in mortality and reoperation remained significant. Conclusions: The Bentall-De Bono operation can be performed with consistently good results in experienced centers. Early outcomes are excellent regardless of the valve choice. In our study, the Bentall-De Bono operation with bCVG was associated with lower 10-year mortality but carried a higher risk of aortic reoperation. While the risk of reoperation is largely tied to valve choice, follow-up mortality is more likely to be influenced by patient comorbidities and risk factors.