PLATELET ADHESION TO NATIVE AND TREATED BIOPROSTHETIC HEART VALVES PART I: STATIC TEST TO STUDY INFLUENCE OF GLUTARALDEHYDE FIXATION AND EXPOSURE TIMES.

A low incidence of thromboembolism without long-term anticoagulant therapy has made bioprosthesis a popular choice of heart valve replacement. However, the major limitation of bioprostheses is their propensity for clinically observed Ca** plus ** plus formation and associated thrombogenecity, which also influences their haemodynamic performance and eventually leads to valvular dysfunction. In spite of that, no in vitro study has been conducted for direct evaluation of platelet adhesion on these glutaraldehyde-treated tissue valvular heterografts. To this end, this paper reports on platelet adhesion studies on porcine cusps and bovine pericardial tissue fixed with glutaraldehyde in comparison with untreated valves, as well as on the influence of glutaraldehyde concentration and contact time on platelet adhesions.