Regenerative Medicine Approach to Heart Valve Replacement

Abstract

Approximately 275 000 patients receive a heart valve replacement annually. Their choices and the choices of their surgeons are limited to either a metal valve replacement or a preserved (typically allogeneic or xenogeneic) tissue valve replacement. These patients are then subject to the morbidity associated with anticoagulation when mechanical valves are used or the limited durability of a biological prosthesis with the prospect of replacement surgery. An off-the-shelf heart valve with the durability of metal valves and the biocompatibility of biological valves would likely receive immediate and widespread acceptance. See p 2783 Metal heart valves have experienced a series of transformations since the Lucite ball valve and the silicone caged ball valve of the 1950s and 1960s. Thromboembolic complications with these valves led to the development of a variety of disk valves including the Bjork-Shiley, the Lillehei-Kaster, and the St. Jude bileaflet valve. Superior hemodynamic characteristics were possible with these disk …