Percutaneous pulmonary valve replacement: autologous tissue-engineered valved stents

Aims Percutaneous implantation has already been used clinically and is a great option for treating young patients. The use of autologous tissue-engineered valved stents might solve the problem of degeneration and limited durability of biologi-cal heart valves. Methods and results Porcine pulmonary heart valves and small intestinal submucosa were obtained from a slaughterhouse. The intestinal submucosa was used to cover the inside of the porcine pulmonary valved stents. Endothelial cells (ECs) and auto