Lipid insudation as a cause of structural failure of a stentless pericardial bioprosthesis.

The Sorin Pericarbon Freedom (SPF) valve is a stentless bioprosthesis made from bovine pericardium, with a peculiar design aimed at preventing the mechanical failures observed with old models of stented pericardial bioprostheses. Herein, the case is described of a patient who presented with severe regurgitation of a SPF six years after aortic valve replacement, caused by commissural dehiscence. Both, microradiographic and histologic investigations, revealed mild calcific deposits and massive lipid infiltration, thus confirming that a patient-related mechanism such as 'atheromasia' can account for structural valve deterioration also in recipients of pericardial bioprostheses