Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The artificial heart valve used in clinical application can be divided into stented and stentless. Stented valve is convenient for operations, with a low possibility of incompetency after transplantation. However stented valve cannot stimulate natural valve.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce valve implantation time and improve valve properties, this study was designed to develop a new stentless porcine aortic valve for single-layer suture and implantation based on the design of valve in pig aortic root geometry optimization, and to further evaluate its performance by in vitro test.

METHODS: (1) Stentless porcine aortic valve for single-layer suture was prepared. (2) The in vitro valve implantation experiment was performed with monolayer suture method. (3) The valve was detected by in vitro fluid mechanics test and fatigue test.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Stentless valve for single-layer suture has removed the valve hard, which contributes to reduce the damaged caused by blood flow on the valve leaflet, at the same time removal of the hard valve ring can widen the diameter of implanted valve and improve hemodynamics, even the implantation time of valve is shorter than traditional double-layer suture. The in vitro fluid mechanics test and fatigue test results are satisfactory. The future research lies in a complete elucidation of long operation time, postoperative long-term clinical efficacy and durability of stentless valve implantation.

Key words: heart valve prosthesis implantation, stents, aortic valve, heart valves, thromboembolism, cardiac output