Patent ID: 8858621

Claim:
A method of implanting a prosthetic heart valve comprising: making an incision in the vasculature of a patient's body; threading one or more sutures through a native annulus of the heart and extending the one or more sutures outwardly through the incision and through a portion of a prosthetic valve having a non-collapsible/non-expandable annular frame; providing an introducer comprising an elongated body, a central passageway extending through the body, the elongated body having on one side two opposing longitudinal edges that are not connected from the proximal end to the distal end and face each other to form a longitudinally extending gap or slit therebetween; placing an introducer around the one or more sutures by passing the one or more sutures between the two opposing longitudinal edges in the introducer body and into the central passageway of the introducer; inserting the introducer into and through the incision such that a distal end and a proximal end of the introducer are on opposite sides of the incision; sliding the prosthetic valve along the one or more sutures and through the introducer until the prosthetic valve engages the annulus; removing the introducer from the incision; and securing the valve to the annulus with the one or more sutures.