Pericardial sealing member for prosthetic heart valve

A method of manufacturing a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

• providing a piece of pericardial tissue comprising a fibrous parietal layer and a serous parietal layer;
• reducing a thickness of the piece of pericardial tissue by removing a portion of the serous parietal layer with a laser in a laser milling process, the fibrous parietal layer defining a first surface of the piece of pericardial tissue and the serous parietal layer defining a second surface of the piece of pericardial tissue;
• forming a plurality of openings or slits in the piece of pericardial tissue, between a first end portion and an opposite, second end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue;
• and
• positioning the piece of pericardial tissue around an outer surface of a frame of the prosthetic heart valve and securing it thereto such that the first surface is facing away from the frame and the second surface is facing towards the frame and the second end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue is disposed at an inflow end of the frame and the first end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue is disposed at a location on the frame that is between the inflow end and an outflow end of the frame.

A method of manufacturing a prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

• providing a piece of pericardial tissue comprising a fibrous parietal layer and a serous parietal layer;
• reducing a thickness of the piece of pericardial tissue by removing a portion of the serous parietal layer, the fibrous parietal layer defining a first surface of the piece of pericardial tissue and the serous parietal layer defining a second surface of the piece of pericardial tissue, wherein the piece of pericardial tissue has a first end portion and a second end portion arranged opposite one another;
• positioning the piece of pericardial tissue around an outer surface of a frame of the prosthetic heart valve and securing it thereto such that the first surface is facing away from the frame and the second surface is facing towards the frame, wherein the securing to the frame includes securing the first end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue to the frame at a location on the frame between an inflow end and an outflow end of the frame;
• positioning an inner skirt around an inner surface of the frame and securing a first edge portion of the inner skirt to the frame, on the inner surface of the frame;
• wrapping a second edge portion of the inner skirt around the inflow end of the frame and around the second end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue, the second edge portion of the inner skirt disposed opposite the first edge portion of the inner skirt;
• and
• securing the second end portion of the piece of pericardial tissue and the wrapped second edge portion of the inner skirt to the inflow end of the frame, on the outer surface of the frame.