Mitral annuloplasty ring flexibility preferentially reduces posterior suture forces

Journal of Biomechanics
Eric L PierceAjit P Yoganathan

Abstract

Annuloplasty ring repair is a common procedure for the correction of mitral valve regurgitation. Commercially available rings vary in dimensions and material properties. Annuloplasty ring suture dehiscence from the native annulus is a catastrophic yet poorly understood phenomenon that has been reported across ring types. Recognizing that sutures typically dehisce from the structurally weaker posterior annulus, our group is conducting a multi-part study in search of ring design parameters that influence forces acting on posterior annular sutures in the beating heart. Herein, we report the effect of ring rigidity on suture forces. Measurements utilized custom force sensors, attached to annuloplasty rings and implanted in normal ovine subjects via standard surgical procedure. Tested rings included the semi-rigid Physio (Edwards Lifesciences) and rigid and flexible prototypes of matching geometry. While no significant differences due to ring stiffness existed for sutures in the anterior region, posterior forces were significantly reduced with use of the flexible ring (rigid: 1.95 ± 0.96 N, semi-rigid: 1.76 ± 1.19 N, flexible: 1.04 ± 0.63 N; p < 0.001). The ratio of anterior to posterior FC scaled positively with increasing flexibil...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 19, 2019·Journal of Cardiac Surgery·Raphaelle A ChemtobMarc Gillinov
Feb 17, 2019·European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surgery : Official Journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery·Stefaan BouchezThierry Bové

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Aphasia

Aphasia affects the ability to process language, including formulation and comprehension of language and speech, as well as the ability to read or write. Here is the latest research on aphasia.