title: Tissue engineering of autologous heart valves: a focused update.
abstract: The prevalence of valvular heart disease is expected to increase in the coming decades, with an associated rise in valve-related surgeries. Current options for valve prostheses remain limited, essentially confined to mechanical or biological valves. Neither selection provides an optimal balance between structural integrity and associated morbidity. Mechanical valves offer exceptional durability coupled with a considerable risk of thrombogenesis. Conversely, a biological prosthesis affords freedom from anticoagulation, but with a truncated valve lifespan. Tissue-engineered heart valves have been touted as a solution to this dilemma, by offering an immunopriviledged prosthesis combined with resistance from degeneration and the potential to grow. Although the reality of commercially available tissue-engineered heart valves remains distant, this article will highlight the cellular and clinical advancements in recent years.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery & Surgical Research, Department of Surgery, The Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University Health Center, 687 Pine Avenue West, Suite S8.73b, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le Huu
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shum-Tim
mesh_terms: D001705:Bioprosthesis; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D023822:Tissue Engineering