Starr Edwards Heart Valve Prosthesis
Starr Edwards Heart Valve Prosthesis
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- Description (Brief)
- This is a 22mm Starr-Edwards mitral artificial heart valve. After attemping to design a bi-leaflet artificial heart valve, Dr. Albert Starr (born 1926) and engineer M. Lowell Edwards (1898-1982) abandoned the idea of trying to replicate a natural looking valve. Instead they designed a caged ball device for the replacement of the mitral valve.
- In the 1950s and 1960s, Rheumatic fever was still a serious problem. When left untreated it can damage the mitral valve. this can include stenosis or narrowing of the valve opening, regurgitation, the leakage of blood or prolapse, a billowing of the mitral leaflets.
- The first implantation of a Starr-Edwards valve took place in the summer of 1960. It had a Lucite cage, and a silicone ball or poppets.
- In the 1960s and 1970s five Starr-Edwards ball valves were developed including ones such as this in which the metal struts were covered in Teflon.
- An archive and artifact collection documenting the development of the Starr Edwards Heart Valve is located at The Oregon Health and Science University.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- cardiology
- artificial heart valve
- Other Terms
- Surgery
- maker
- Edwards Laboratories
- Physical Description
- lucite (overall material)
- silicone (overall material)
- teflon (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 1 7/8 in x 2 1/8 in; 4.7625 cm x 5.3975 cm
- ID Number
- 1981.0731.07
- accession number
- 1981.0731
- catalog number
- 1981.0731.07
- model number
- 6520
- serial number
- S 8997
- Credit Line
- Dr. Patrick K. C. Chun
- subject
- Cardiology
- Prosthesis
- Artificial Organs
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- Artificial Heart Valves
- Health & Medicine
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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