Minimally-invasive heart valves and methods of use

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides an expandable prosthetic heart valve for placement in a host heart valve annulus, comprising an expandable stent system adapted to be delivered in a collapsed state to an implantation site and expanded, and a plurality of prosthetic leaflets attached to the stent system.
Each leaflet has an approximately semi-circular cusp edge terminating at each end in commissure portions, and a coapting edge extending between the commissure portions.
Each leaflet is attached to the stent system substantially entirely along the cusp edge and at both commissure portions, with a coapting edge remaining unattached.
The stent system may comprise an expandable generally annular tissue-engaging base and an elastic generally annular wireform attached thereto.
The base is adapted to be delivered in a radially collapsed state and expanded into contact with the host annulus.
The annular wireform defines a plurality of upstanding commissures and a plurality of arcuate cusps between adjacent commissures, and the prosthetic leaflets are attached to the wireform along the cusps and commissures, wherein the wireform and leaflets are configured to be radially compressed.
In one embodiment, the heart valve includes a plurality of upstanding posts attached to one of the tissue-engaging base and elastic wireform, each post having a connector.
A plurality of mating connectors are provided on the other of the tissue-engaging base and elastic wireform for mating with the post connectors.
The posts and mating connectors may be provided for each commissure and each cusp of the elastic wireform so that the valve includes a number of posts and mating connectors equal to the number of commissures plus the number of cusps.
Further, the expandable stent system may include an undulating wireform defining a plurality of commissures and a plurality of cusps between adjacent commissures.
The cusp edge of each of the prosthetic leaflets attaches along a wireform cusp, and the commissure portions of each leaflet terminate in outwardly extending tabs that each attach to a wireform commissure, wherein tabs from adjacent leaflets are attached together at each of the wireform commissures