NEW CONCEPTS IN THE DESIGN AND USE OF BIOLOGICAL PROSTHETIC VALVES

The natural aortic valve is a structure that has thus far eluded all a ttempts at duplication with synthetic materials. Real success in the r eplacement of the aortic valve has come about primarily through the us e of biological devices, such as the porcine aortic valve xenograft. I n the future, bioprostheses based more closely on the natural aortic v alve may ultimately succeed where synthetic approaches have failed. So me recent advances in the design and development of bioprosthetic hear t valves, such as the absence of a stent and the better preservation o f the valve's natural biomechanical properties, show considerable prom ise in improving the long term durability of these devices. With a gre ater understanding of the structure/function relationship of the aorti c valve at the micromechanical level, the future of bioprostheses may be even more biologically oriented than it is today.