Richard L Li, Mingze Sun, Jonathan B Russ, Pierre-Louis Pousse, Alexander P Kossar, Isabel Gibson, Costas Paschalides, Abigail R Herschman, Maryam H Abyaneh, Giovanni Ferrari, Emile Bacha, Haim Waisman, Vijay Vedula, Jeffrey W Kysar, David Kalfa
Currently available heart valve prostheses have no growth potential, requiring children with heart valve diseases to endure multiple valve replacement surgeries with compounding risks. This study demonstrates the in vitro proof of concept of a biostable polymeric trileaflet valved conduit designed for surgical implantation and subsequent expansion via transcatheter balloon dilation to accommodate the growth of pediatric patients and delay or avoid repeated open-heart surgeries. The valved conduit is formed via dip molding using a polydimethylsiloxane-based polyurethane, a biocompatible material shown here to be capable of permanent stretching under mechanical loading...
July 2023: Macromolecular Bioscience