Should Your Replacement Valve Be Made of Tissue or Metal?

Porcine valves typically fail suddenly and unpredictably by tearing. If this were to happen in the aortic position, the patient would require emergency surgery. Thats why we use porcine valves in the mitral position. If a mitral valve fails, we can lower the patients blood pressure or use a balloon pump to hold the patient until the valve can be replaced, heexplains.