PhD defence A.P. (András) Durkó

Dissertation in short:

The aim of this thesis was to facilitate the unbiased comparison of different prosthetic heart valves and to study the outcomes and trends of surgical and transcatheter treatment of aortic valve disease. 

In order to achieve a better comparison between different prosthetic heart valves, uniform, readily available and complete information on prosthetic valve characteristics is necessary. We worked with a group of experts from different disciplines in the multi-society EACTS-STS-AATS Valve Labelling Task Force, produced two consensus papers on surgical heart valve characteristics, and formulated recommendations on how to improve the current labeling of prosthetic heart valves. Further, we studied long-term trends and survival of surgical aortic valve replacement, examined the key neurological outcomes of surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and estimated future trends in the use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement. 

These studies can contribute to the optimization of treatment decisions for patients who need aortic valve replacement and have been published in prestigious international journals in the field of cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery, such as the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, European Heart Journal, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and the European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery.