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Development of a carbon-coated, central-hinging, bileaflet valve
V L Gott1, R L Daggett, W P Young
1Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|September 1, 1989
Summary
This study followed patients with bileaflet valves for up to 25 years. The carbon-coated valves showed exceptional durability, with no reported fatigue failures in over 700 implants worldwide.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Biomaterials Science
- Medical Device Engineering
Background:
- Aortic and mitral valve replacement are critical cardiac procedures.
- Early prosthetic valves faced challenges with durability and material failure.
- The development of advanced prosthetic valves is essential for long-term patient outcomes.
Observation:
- Eighty-six patients received carbon-coated, central-hinging, bileaflet valves between 1963 and 1966.
- A 25-year follow-up was achieved for a subset of patients with aortic, mitral, or double prostheses.
- Mean implantation times ranged from 7.2 to 9.5 years, with longest durations of 24.2 years (aortic) and 24 years (mitral).
Findings:
- The bileaflet valve demonstrated unexpected long-term durability.
- No fatigue failure of the silicone-impregnated Teflon fabric leaflet was reported in this cohort or among approximately 700 global recipients.
- Individual valves achieved implantation durations exceeding two decades.
Implications:
- This valve's design and biomaterial innovations influenced subsequent prosthetic valve development.
- The findings support the long-term efficacy and reliability of specific bileaflet valve designs.
- This study provides valuable data for the biomaterials and engineering of current cardiac valve prostheses.