From March 1978, 196 Carpentier-Edwards standard bioprostheses (stCE) were implanted in 194 patients. There were 154 isolated mitral valve replacements (MVR) and 42 aortic plus mitral valve replacements (AVR/MVR) with a mean follow-up of 7.05 (range 0-15.2) years and 7.15 (range 0-13.8) years, respectively. Freedom from structural valve failure at 10 years was 70.8% +/- 4.9% (MVR) and 59.6% +/- 11.1% (AVR/MVR). The incidence of structural valve failure increased sharply after 7 years. Freedom from thromboembolism was 83.0% +/- 3.8% (MVR) and 89.0 +/- 6.0% (AVR/MVR). Thromboembolic events were related to the presence of atrial fibrillation in patients not receiving anticoagulation. Anticoagulant-related haemorrhage was rare. Freedom from mitral valve prosthetic endocarditis at 10 years was 90.9% +/- 3.1% (MVR) and 86.1% +/- 8.4% (AVR/MVR). Prosthetic valve endocarditis was associated with more than 60% mortality. The probability of event-free survival at 10 years follow-up was 43.6% +/- 4.6% (MVR) and 33.3% +/- 8.6% (AVR/MVR). The performance of the stCE in the mitral position shows a low rate of thromboembolic events and anticoagulant-related haemorrhage, but the long-term performance of the prosthesis is unsatisfactory due to a high rate of structural valve failure. This confirms earlier reports.