XENOGRAFT

Typical Number in Hospital:

Cost Bands:

References: 4

This is an implant transferred from an animal of different species (sometimes called a heterograft). This is most commonly encountered as the tissue heart valve. A substitute heart valve (porcine bioprosthesis) may be made from the natural valve of a specially bred pig. The valve is removed from the pig and carefully sewn on to a metal or plastic ring which is covered with a woven fabric (often Dacron), which can then be sewn in place of a diseased heart valve. These valves provide good flow characteristics compared with mechanical (ball or disc) valves but introduce different problems of tissue preparation and antigenic reaction.