Heart surgeryIn 1952, the first artificial aortic valve was successfull fitted in the heart of a 30-yr-old patient. It was made by Dr. Charles A. Hufnagel of the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The valve was made of Flexiglas and contained a 3/4" diam. float that rose and slipped into one of three sockets in the side of the valve sleeve on the heart's upbeat, when blood was forced into the aorta. |