Surgery of the aortic valve due to calcified aortic stenosis has been a well known procedure for many years. Continuous clinical improvement after isolated aortic valve replacement can be documented in the majority of patients followed up for several years. Surgery of this type in association with other procedures (coronary artery bypass, mitral valve replacement, etc.) has become more and more common. For this reason we have analysed the operative risk of a group of patients with calcified aortic stenosis that were operated on at La Pitié Hospital from 1980 to 1984.