Editor's Commentary

Trends in Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in More Than 3,000 Consecutive Cases in the Era of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantations

Biological versus Mechanical Heart Valve Prostheses. Has the Paradigm Shifted Definitively?

Experience with new techniques sometimes spurs even newer ideas. The article by Silaschi et al is a perfect example. In the era of fast-developing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) technology, valid data from large centers are of high interest for the scientific community. Although the Editor was somewhat surprised by the conclusions the authors drew and the policy they advocate, he still thought the article valuable. To stimulate discussion, one of our Editorial Board members, who had also reviewed the manuscript, was invited to write a commentary. Any Letters-to-the-Editor to continue this debate are very welcome.

As for the Editor himself suffice it to cite the sentence so often (wrongly) attributed to Voltaire: “I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”—because this is an adamant editorial principle.