long as the patient remains in good health after implantation of the ring implant, the annuloplasty ring should last for the remainder of the patient's lifetime. The ring itself should become quickly covered with the patient's native tissue, essentially blending into the background. Valve patients undergoing ANY dental procedure should be considered for prophylactic treatment. Please consult your physician about this prior to visiting a dentist.

The implant is machined from surgical-grade titanium alloy (Ti 6Al-4V ELI), which is a biocompatible material. However, there is a slight possibility that it will not integrate with bone. If this were to occur, the implant would be replaced with another one. It is highly unlikely that the second implant would not integrate.

It varies with the equipment used, but the cremation time for the equipment installed at Birkenau appears to have required an incineration time of about an hour per body. The entire cremation cycle took longer and each oven, or retort, could reduce three or four bodies per day under normal operating circumstances. Birkenau had a total of 46 ovens so the capacity would have been 184 bodies per day if all of the facilities were operating at once. This, however, was not the case.

The AnnuloFlex Annuloplasty Ring is made of a braided polyester suture in the center, covered by barium sulfate-impregnated silicone rubber and a polyester cloth material on the outside. The AnnuloFlo Annuloplasty Ring is made of a titanium alloy stiffening ring in center, covered by silicone rubber, with a carbon-coated polyester cloth material on the outside.

It is actually a fairly complicated procedure. Please refer to the AnnuloFlex and AnnuloFlo Annuloplasty System Surgical Technique Guide located in the annuloplasty ring repair section of this website. Please note that this technique guide is simply a recommendation and surgical techniques differ from surgeon to surgeon.

Five years from date of sterilization. The expiration date is marked on the carton and jar labels and represents the last day of the month printed, e.g. 08/2006 = 08/31/2006.

A special type of bone acrylic cement may be used to secure some or all of the implant components to the bone. If used, the bone cement takes about 15 minute to set.  In other cases, the implants may be “press-fit” into the bone. Press-fit components may have a special porous coating that allows tissue to grow up to it for fixation.

The first Bicon implants were placed in 1985. There is no reason why an implant cannot last a lifetime. However, specific situations such as facial or occlusal trauma can negatively impact their longevity.

It generally depends on the type and extent of the procedure, but each procedure usually takes between one to two hours.

For most cases, a blood thinner, also known as Coumadin, is typically prescribed for a limited period of time after an annuloplasty repair ring has been implanted. The time frame is generally based on how long it takes the patient's native tissue to seal the ring and no longer present a risk of thrombus/clotting formation.

Yes. All Carbomedics mechanical heart valves and annuloplasty rings have been tested in between the range of 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla for excessive heating and displacement. The test results indicate that no displacement occurred and the impact from heat was negligible. Note however that some image distortion can occur in the vicinity of the valve. The complete report of the test results are available on the website.

It is very unlikely. However, if you suspect that you might be allergic to polyester, silicone, barium sulfate, titanium, or nitinol, you should discuss it with your surgeon who may arrange for testing prior to your surgery. No. These electrical and magnetic fields are too weak to significantly heat or displace the valve or annuloplasty ring.

No. A valve or annuloplasty ring is not affected by ultra-violet rays, even if the rays could penetrate that deeply into your tissue.

All Carbomedics instrumentation must be cleaned and steam sterilized prior to initial use and each reuse. Carbomedics instrumentation may be steam sterilized according to specific minimum parameters. Follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the sterilization equipment and established hospital procedures. Carbomedics instruments should not be used if there are any signs of crazing or evidence of aging that may affect function.

A rigid ring, once implanted, fixes the valve in a specific shape. A flexible ring, once implanted, allows the valve to take whatever shape is natural for it and probably can conform to the changes in shape and position of the left atrioventricular junction during the cardiac cycle. Either can be used for mitral valve repair, it is surgeon preference on which they implant. Carbomedics offers both rigid and flexible rings. AnnuloFlo is rigid and AnnuloFlex is flexible.

Most ova probably survive about six to twelve hours after ovulation. However, for the purposes of contraception, you must count on a 24-hour survival period, plus an additional 24 hours in case there is a multiple ovulation.

Sperm in the cervical mucus of a woman's vagina can survive for up to six days - possibly seven. Without the cervical mucus to both nourish and protect the sperm, the sperm will die within one-half to four hours. Anyone who has touched semen should wash and dry - or at least wipe off - before touching the vulva or vagina.

The HIV virus is very fragile outside the body, but it can live from several minutes to several hours on the surface of objects in the environment, depending on the situation and environmental factors. The potency of the virus outside the body diminishes over time, but the virus must get directly into the bloodstream to infect anyone. Most household cleaners such as soap, bleach or peroxide will kill it. When cleaning any blood spills, use universal precautions.

a) It varies with the equipment used, but the cremation time for the equipment installed at Birkenau appears to have required an incineration time of about an hour per body. The entire cremation cycle took longer and each oven, or retort, could reduce three or four bodies per day under normal operating circumstances. Birkenau had a total of 46 ovens so the capacity would have been 184 bodies per day if all of the facilities were operating at once. This, however, was not the case.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is fragile. Once the virus is outside the body in a dry form, it dies immediately. Even in a wet state, it does not live long when exposed to heat, detergents, or disinfectants. When stored in blood banks at 4°C, it can live for about 3 weeks (or longer), or till the white cell disintegrates, but in a frozen state it can survive for years.

Humans mainly consist of water; it is in all our organs and in is transported throughout our body to assist physical functions. When a human does not absorb enough water, dehydration is the result. This is not very surprising, given that 66% of the human body consists of water.

All implants have a limited life expectancy depending on an individual‘s age, weight, activity level and medical condition(s). A joint implant‘s longevity will vary in every patient. It is important to remember that an implant is a medical device subject to wear. While it is important to follow all of your surgeon‘s recommendations after surgery, there is no guarantee that your particular implant will last for any specific length of time.

To place the C-Pulse cuff around the aorta and sew it in place takes about 15 to 20 minutes. The total operation time is expected to take 60-90 minutes. This compares to 4 to 8 hours for and LVAD implant.

Bacteria are too large to pass through the microscopic pores of the implant shell. If bacteria and/or fungus enter the shell, it would most likely happen at the time of surgery, when the saline solution is being put into the implant. If you have a good surgeon, this is unlikely to happen.

The materials that the implant is made out of are generally inert enough to not elicit an immune response. However, it is possible to have sensitivity or to develop an infection around the implant, and this in essence will force the implant to be removed.

No one can predict the outcome of any surgical procedure. If you have pain in your foot from an embedded needle one would suppose that once it is removed the pain should go away. There are many involved factors, the longer the needle is in the foot the longer it will take for the pain to go away once the needle is removed. When it comes to the joints and soft tissue attachments there may be irreversible damage that cannot be reversed with this procedure. However, improvement should be felt.

The device is implanted permanently. The clinical trials require measurements of quality of life and heart size/function before the implant and at 6 months following implantation. Comparing the results from pre-operatively and at 6 months allows "long-term" assessment of the C-Pulse in regard of testing the device safety and performance. Patients' well-being will continue to be monitored following the end of the clinical trial assessment.