Design of Replacement Leaflets for the Aortic Valve.

Complete aortic valve leaflet replacement has been described for decades. Recently, Glutaraldehyde-fixed autologous pericardium has been used for this purpose, and good long-term results are emerging. Outcomes seem to be better than with prosthetic aortic valve replacement, and similar to native valve repair. Multiple strategies have been used for the design of replacement leaflets, including the measurement of inter-commissural chord length (as in the accompanying paper), and multiplying annular diameter by 1.5 to obtain leaflet free-edge length. Greater application of aortic valve leaflet replacement has the potential for improving the results of aortic valve surgery.