Patent ID: 8512397

Claim:
A prosthesis comprising: a prosthetic heart valve having a plurality of leaflets for controlling blood flow through the heart valve and an annular portion having a first diameter, the annular portion located at a proximal end of the prosthetic heart valve; a prosthetic vascular conduit including a terminal collar member radially expandable to receive the prosthetic heart valve, the terminal collar member including a contractible portion radially contractible to engage the annular portion of the prosthetic heart valve such that the prosthetic heart valve is coupled to the conduit; and a contractible member coupled to the terminal collar member at a location proximal to the annular portion and extending about a circumference of the terminal collar member; wherein the contractible member is a suturing wire forming a loop configured to enable a practitioner to exert a positive contraction force on the terminal collar member to reduce a diameter of the contractible portion to a second diameter smaller than the first diameter of the annular portion, such that the prosthetic heart valve is captured inside the terminal collar member.