Bill,
You seem to ASSUME that (ALL?) Surgeons are fully knowledgeable about ALL Valves and Procedures and will make the Best Choice for the Patient even though they have only known this patient for an hour, more or less.
After meeting / interviewing several Surgeons and reading comments here on VR.com about Surgeons Valve preferences, it became apparent that MANY had LITTLE knowledge of the On-X Valve Design and advancements.
It was also apparent that Many Surgeons Limit their Valve offerings to one or two Mechanical Valves and one or two Tissue Valves. Many Surgeons do NOT perform the Ross Procedure or offer Homografts. It is also known that Hospitals often put their Valve Business up for "competitive bid" and select 2 valves from each category. (I believe CC and Mayo are 2 examples).
Some of our members reported that the surgeons they asked about On-X dismissed it as "Too New, Too Untried" inspite of the fact that it was introduced to the World Market in 1996 and there are over 70,000 On-X Valves in place in 64 countries. It was approved by the FDA in 2001 for use in the USA. I guess those skeptical Surgeons are waiting to see the 20 year Studies before they will consider using this "New Technology". I wonder how many are offering the New and Improved Porcine Tissue Valves that have way less 'time in use'.
I have also found that Cardiologists are even LESS knowledgeable about the On-X Valve. My own Cardio told me he has NOT reviewed the literature on On-X and he knows of my interest in these valves.
As you probably know, I consider the On-X to be the most technologically advanced Mechanical Valve Design on the Market today. This opinion seems to be shared by Dr. Puskas at Emory University, the sponsors of the NO / LOW Anticoagulation Studies, and Dr. Pettersson at Cleveland Clinic.
On-X valves are the 4th? Major Valve created by Jack Bokros, Ph.D. who developed the Pyrolytic Carbon used in the Leaflets of all the Bi-Leaflet Mechanical Valves. You may dismiss the studies and data, but you cannot disagree that it is the ONLY valve with the latest (improved) Pyrolytic Carbon Leaflets that are smoother and stronger than the earlier designs, it is the ONLY valve where the leaflets open a full 90 degrees (to reduce turbulence to levels seen only in tissue valves), and it is the ONLY valve with built in barriers to Pannus Tissue Growth.
In case you don't know, Jack Bokros consulted with St. Jude on the design of their original Bi-Leaflet Valve which has evolved into their Master's Series. In other words, the St. Jude Master's Series was Jack's FIRST Valve Design.
Jack later formed Carbomedics to produce Carbon Products for Medical Use and has patents on the Carbomedics and ATS Valves. He later formed On-X to produce his 'latest and greatest' design. Are you saying that his FIRST design is better than the one he came up with after 20 years of designing Heart Valves?
'AL Capshaw'
The upper right corner clearly says the page is sponsored by On-X Heart Valves.
