Severe aortic stenosis in a patient with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding: replacement of the aortic valve with a porcine xenograft.
Patients with aortic stenosis are subject to recurrent episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding of uncertain cause. How such patients should be handled when aortic valve replacement is required is not established. This report deals with such a patient who underwent successful aortic valve replacement with a porcine xenograft without anticoagulation. The patient has had no recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding since the valve replacement. The use of the now widely available porcine xenograft for aortic valve replacement avoids the need for anticoagulants in patients with a history of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. This case and limited data from the medical literature suggest that recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding after aortic valve replacement may be uncommon.