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Ann Thorac Surg 2002;74:1434
© 2002 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Editorial

Tissue-engineered valves

^a Section of Thoracic Surgery, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

* Address reprint requests to Dr Elkins, Section of Thoracic Surgery, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, 920 Stanton L. Young Blvd, Suite WP2230, Oklahoma City, OK, 73190, USA.
e-mail: ronald-elkins@ouhsc.edu

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Dr Elkins discloses that he has a conflict of interest with CryoLife, Inc.

 

The development of a tissue-engineered heart valve has been the goal of many cardiac surgeons for decades. The original implants of allograft heart valves were hoped to be permanent valve implants, especially if they could be implanted with viable intrinsic cells. However, these valves slowly develop progressive structural degeneration and at explantation are noted to be acellular. This loss of cellularity is thought to be immunologically mediated, as valvular tissue of organ transplants retain their normal cellular architecture if appropriate immune suppressive therapy is utilized. This recognition that maintenance of viability was important for long-term durability led to the use of the pulmonary autograft valve . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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				I. Vesely Heart Valve Tissue Engineering Circ. Res., October 14, 2005; 97(8): 743 - 755. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. G. Hogan and M. F. O'Brien Improving the allograft valve: does the immune response matter? J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., November 1, 2003; 126(5): 1251 - 1253. [Full Text] [PDF]