Natural tissue heart valve fixation apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method of fixing a natural tissue heart valve having an interior, an exterior, a tubular wall having an outflow section, an inflow section and valve leaflets that allow fluid flow into the outflow section, the method comprising the steps of:
- placing a hollow tube through the valve leaflets so that fluid pressure on a side of the valve leaflets is transferred to an opposite side of the valve leaflets through the tube;
subjecting the interior of the valve to a fixative fluid at a first pressure and the exterior of the valve to fixative fluid at a second pressure so that a first differential fluid pressure acts outwardly across the tubular wall of the outflow section and a second but unequal differential fluid pressure is formed across the valve leaflets.
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Abstract
An apparatus and a method for fixing a heart valve is disclosed that produces a differential pressure across the outflow section of the heart valve to the exterior of the valve that may be made relatively large while the differential pressure across the valve leaflets is small or zero. The invention comprises attaching the outflow section of a heart valve to a source of pressurized fluid; placing a small tube through the leaflets and plugging the inflow section. The tube is preferably attached to a cannula plug that plugs the inflow section of the valve. The tube has a fluid inlet near the connection point of the tube to the cannula plug to allow fluid around the connection point to enter the tube. The tube opens at its opposite end to form a fluid channel from a point near the connection of the cannula plug to the tube through the opposite end of the tube. The tube allows fluid in the outflow section to move across the leaflets to the inflow section. Fluid that enters the inflow section will be at the same fluid pressure as the fluid that is in the outflow section.
41 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of fixing a natural tissue heart valve having an interior, an exterior, a tubular wall having an outflow section, an inflow section and valve leaflets that allow fluid flow into the outflow section, the method comprising the steps of:
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placing a hollow tube through the valve leaflets so that fluid pressure on a side of the valve leaflets is transferred to an opposite side of the valve leaflets through the tube; subjecting the interior of the valve to a fixative fluid at a first pressure and the exterior of the valve to fixative fluid at a second pressure so that a first differential fluid pressure acts outwardly across the tubular wall of the outflow section and a second but unequal differential fluid pressure is formed across the valve leaflets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of fixing a natural tissue heart valve having an interior, an exterior, a tubular wall defining a passage and valve leaflets dividing the passage into an inflow section leading to the leaflets and an outflow section leading away from the leaflets with the leaflets being openable to allow flow from the inflow section to the outflow section, the method comprising the steps of:
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attaching a cannula plug to the inflow section to provide an inflow chamber with a first end wall having an inlet leading to the inflow chamber, the cannula plug having a base and a hollow tube connected to the base, the hollow tube having a first end and a second end, the first end of the hollow tube connected to the base, the hollow tube having a first hole near the first end to provide a fluid passage to the interior of the hollow tube, the hollow tube having a second hole near the second end; attaching a fixture to the outflow section to provide an outflow chamber with a second end wall having an inlet leading to the outflow chamber; subjecting the exterior of the valve to a fixative fluid; and flowing fixative fluid under pressure through the inlet into the outflow chamber, through the second hole in the hollow tube, through the hollow tube, out of the first hole and into the inflow chamber until the fixative fluid is present in both the inflow and outflow chambers and the pressure of the fixative fluid in the inflow and outflow chambers is equalized. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A method of fixing a natural tissue heart valve which includes a tubular wall defining a passage and valve leaflets dividing the passage into an inflow section leading to the leaflets and an outflow section leading away from the leaflets with the leaflets being openable to allow flow from the inflow section to the outflow section, the method comprising:
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placing a hollow tube through the valve leaflets so that fluid pressure on a side of the valve leaflets is transferred to an opposite side of the valve leaflets through the tube; coupling the inflow section to fixative fluid under pressure; coupling the outflow section to fixative fluid under pressure; immersing the valve in a bath of fixative solutions; and flowing fixative solution into the inflow section and the outflow section with the pressure of the fixative fluid in the outflow section being greater than the pressure of the bath acting on the valve to provide a first desired differential pressure acting outwardly across the tubular wall of the outflow section and with the pressure of the fixative fluid in the inflow chamber being sufficient in relation to the pressure of the fixative fluid in the outflow section to create a second desired differential pressure across the valve leaflets. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification