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Big Hearts

Expandable heart valve that 'grows' with the child recipient

11 April 2020

Big Hearts

Parents know how frustrating it is to endlessly replace children’s clothes as they grow. But imagine having to replace essential body parts at the same rate. Children born with heart defects can need as many as five open heart operations to replace artificial implanted valves as they outgrow old ones. Now a new approach has developed a valve that can adjust in size as the heart grows. The valve, pictured at different degrees of expansion, consists of a stainless steel structure and two leaflets that allow one-way blood flow. The design was modelled on valves in veins of the leg, and the width can be adjusted by a comparatively straightforward balloon catheter procedure. Having been developed in the lab, assessed through computer simulations, and finally tested in growing lambs, the next step is to prepare it for use in human hearts, no matter how large they grow.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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