Appeal No. 2005-0957
Application No. 09/745,386
THE INVENTION
The appellants’ invention relates to an improved holder for implanting a tissue-
type prosthetic mitral heart valve that helps prevent suture looping during the valve
implantation procedure. The holder includes two relatively movable plate-like portions
(40, 44), one of which attaches to a sewing ring on the inflow end of the valve. The
other plate-like portion attaches via flexible lengths of material (e.g., sutures) to
circumferentially spaced valve commissure posts (26) located at the outflow end of the
valve. Separation of the plate-like portions places the flexible lengths of material (60) in
tension and radially constricts the flexible commissure posts for facilitating implanting
the valve outflow end first. The flexible lengths of material (60) extend between the
valve commissure posts and each flexible length of material crosses over the adjacent
flexible length of material just radially inward from the commissure post tips to create a
barrier to suture looping which guides loose sutures over each post tip (62).
Representative claim 1 reads as follows:
A holder for a tissue-type prosthetic heart valve attachable to a surgical delivery
handle, the heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end and a flow axis
therebetween, the valve including an annular suture ring at the inflow end and a plurality
of generally axially extending commissure posts circumferentially-spaced around the
outflow end that support occluding tissue surfaces of the valve, the holder comprising:
a plurality of lengths of flexible material extending in a taut fashion across the
outflow end of the valve to prevent suture looping, each length of material having a first
segment extending directly between adjacent commissure posts and crossing over (i.e.,
intersecting) each adjacent length of material just radially inward from the commissure
post therebetween.
2
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