Fast sutureless implantation of mechanical aortic valve prostheses using Nitinol attachment rings: Feasibility in acute pig experiments.

Objective: There is a need for fast sutureless implantation of valve prostheses with a better outcome than that of current valved stents.

Methods: The suture ring of a St Jude mechanical valve prosthesis (St Jude Medical, Minneapolis, Minn) was replaced by a proprietary non-stent-based attachment ring made of Nitinol memory metal (Endosmart, Stutensee, Germany) and covered with textile. In acute pig experiments, the aortic valve was removed and the device was introduced in a temporary stretched shape and activated by removing constrainers and heating to reach its final attachment shape.

Perioperative assessment of left ventricular function by pressure-volume loops using the conductance catheter method.

Unlabelled: Interpretation of perioperative measurements of cardiac function during cardiac surgery is complicated by changes in loading conditions induced by anesthesia, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and the surgical procedure itself. Quantification of left ventricular (LV) function by pressure-volume relations as obtained by the conductance catheter would be advantageous because load-independent indices can be determined. Accordingly, we evaluated methodological aspects of the conductance-catheter technique and documented LV function before and after CPB in eight patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.