Abstract:
A prosthetic heart valve having an inner support ring of rigid non-thrombogenic material and a malleable metallic outer support ring positioned about the periphery of the inner ring and bent into the immovable clamping relationship therewith. A portion of a tubular fabric member is retained between the two clamped rings, and the remainder of the fabric member is folded into a plurality of layers about the periphery of the outer ring to form a suturing site. Typically, the outer ring carries an outwardly extending flange on one side, which is overlaid by a single thickness of the tubular fabric, to hold the multiple layer suturing site away from the orifice of the inner ring.