Patent ID: 8092518

Claim:
A method of heart valve replacement surgery on a patient, comprising: providing a detachable two-part heart valve, each part being expandable from a collapsed state, comprising: a generally annular tissue-engaging base having a plurality of axial posts extending in an outflow direction each having a commissure connector on an outflow end thereof; and a heart valve subassembly having an undulating elastic wireform defining a plurality of alternating upstanding commissures and arcuate cusps, each commissure having a connector thereon configured for mating with one of the commissure connectors on the tissue-engaging base to form a pair of mating connectors, the heart valve subassembly further having a plurality of prosthetic leaflets attached to the wireform; delivering the base in a collapsed state to an annulus of the patient's heart valve being replaced; expanding the base into an expanded state in contact with the annulus; and connecting the mating connectors on the tissue-engaging base and heart valve subassembly to form the two-part heart valve.