Disc variance of Beall mitral valve

Disc variance in Beall mitral prostheses in 5 patients is reported. All 5 showed disc deformity. Erosion of the Teflon covering of the cage struts was present in varying degrees in 4 of the 5 patients. Disc grooving was present as early as sixteen days after operation. Severe thinning and notching of the disc were noted at autopsy in 3 patients who survived two years following prosthetic valve operation. In I of these two-year survivors the disc destruction was so extensive that incompetence developed; the valve failure contributed to the patient's death. Disc variance must be anticipated in patients with Beall mitral prostheses inserted prior to March of 1968, when the valve fabrication was changed.