A synthetic fiber-reinforced stentless heart valve

There is strong evidence that Failure of bioprosthetic and synthetic valves occurs as a consequence of high tensile and bending stresses, acting on th e leaflets during opening and closing. In stented prostheses, whether synth etic or biological, the absence of contraction of the aortic base causes th e leaflets to be subjected to an unphysiological degree of flexure, which i s also related to calcification. However, a stentless synthetic valve, whic h has a flexible aorta base, can be a good alternative for stented syntheti c valves. Moreover, fiber-reinforcement is assumed to lead to a decrease of tears and perforation as a result of reduced stresses in the weaker parts of the leaflets in their closed configuration. The manufacturing method for a stentless, fiber-reinforced, synthetic valve is presented. Prototypes ar e tested in a pulse duplicator system. The: results show that the mean syst olic pressure difference is very low, while the high regurgitation (up to 2 6%) is probably caused by a too small coaptation area of the leaflets. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.