REVIEW  NEWEST EVIDENCE IN BIOMATERIALS FOR AORTIC AND VALVE GRAFTS Free access

The Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2020 October;61(5):528-37

DOI: 10.23736/S0021-9509.19.11011-7

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The early days of vascular and heart valve prostheses: a historical review

Amir BASIR ¹ ✉, Mylène LONCQ de JONG ¹, Paul F. GRÜNDEMAN ¹, Joost A. van HERWAARDEN ², Jolanda KLUIN ³, Frans L. MOLL ²

¹ Department of Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ² Department of Vascular Surgery, University Medical Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ³ Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

This surgical heritage article provides a historical overview of the most important early advances of vascular- and valvular surgery, that lead to the development of currently used vascular- and valvular prostheses and materials. The first writings describing techniques in vascular surgery mainly focussed on hemorrhage control and date from around 1600 B.C. The strategy of vessel ligation was first mentioned in Western literature around 200 B.C. In the 18^th century, techniques of ligation were expanded towards attempts of vessel restoration. The first artificial vascular prosthesis was made in 1894. From this time on, vascular prostheses were used in animal experiments and around 1900 for the first time in humans. More than 60 years later, in 1952, the first mechanical heart valve prosthesis was implanted. Four years later, the first successful biological heart valve implantation followed. In 2000, a transcatheter heart valve was successfully implanted in a human for the first time. Over time, procedures and techniques became more efficient and effective. This led to new developments, such as the manufacturing of a tissue engineered blood vessel in 1986. Nowadays, dozens of different valve prostheses have been devised, both mechanical and biological. Still, no ideal model of vascular and heart valve prosthesis exists.

KEY WORDS: History; Blood vessel prosthesis; Heart valve prosthesis