CryoLife, Inc. (CRY) recently announced the first implantation of the combination aortic-mitral allograft heart valve in a patient at the Cleveland Clinic. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jose Navia, a cardiac surgeon with the Heart and Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Navia, a native of Argentina, is a staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Clinic’s Heart Center.

The method used was developed by CryoLife in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic. The innovative valve was developed as a replacement option for patients with infective endocarditis involving both the aortic and mitral valves. Infective endocarditis is a condition in which the structures of the heart, particularly the heart valves, contain some type of infection. This infection can be localized within the heart, or generalized throughout the body.

In patients with endocarditis, abscesses may also form in areas surrounding the valves and between the mitral and aortic valve. Surgical treatment of this condition involves removal of infected and dead tissue, drainage and closure of any abscesses, and repair, or more frequently, replacement of the affected valves. Dr. Navia developed the concept of the valve replacement option and is a paid consultant for CryoLife.

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