[HSF] (no subject)

[Hgrmd at aol.com]

Dear Chuck,
  I've never used Biocor in the aortic position.  After all, it's  still a 
pig valve.  I prefer bovine pericardial valves because of my  experience and 
impression from the literature that it's durability is  superior.  However, I 
don't like Perimount in the mitral position.   The profile is 13mm compared to 
Biocor's 8mm.  I've also seen Edwards  porcine mitral cause clinically important 
LVOT obstruction.  That's why  I've been using Biocor mitrals for the past 2 
years.  If you haven't used  them in that position, I would caution you to 
make sure that it is properly  seated, all the way around, before tying it down.  
Early on, I had problems  with a strut getting stuck on the atrial side of 
the annulus due to it's very  low height.  It was fairly easy to fix by 
replacing a couple of tied  sutures, but it was a bit of a pain.
 
Hal



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