Patent ID: 8709077

Claim:
A method for replacing a damaged or diseased aortic valve, the method comprising: minimally invasively advancing a delivery cannula into a patient, a self-expanding prosthetic heart valve in a radially compressed state loaded within the delivery cannula, the prosthetic valve comprising: a collapsible, self-expanding support stent comprising a shape memory material, the support stent including a generally tubular base along an inflow end and three commissure posts provided along an outflow end and extending in an outflow direction, the three commissure posts being cantilevered from the base, each commissure post having a slot formed therein; and a flexible tubular member attached to the support stent, the flexible tubular member comprising a fabric section connected to the base along the inflow end of the support stent and a leaflet section defining three leaflets connected to the commissure posts along the outflow end of the support stent, wherein portions of the leaflet section extend outward through the slots in the commissure posts for securing the leaflet section to the commissure posts; wherein the leaflet section forms loops that pass through each of the commissure posts slots and the prosthetic heart valve further includes inserts disposed within the loops on an outside region of each commissure post, the inserts each having a greater width than a circumferential width of the slots to prevent the loops from pulling inward through the slots; positioning the delivery cannula with the prosthetic heart valve within an annulus of a native aortic valve; releasing the prosthetic heart valve from the delivery cannula within the annulus of the native aortic valve; allowing the prosthetic heart valve to self-expand within the annulus of the native aortic valve such that the tubular base of the support stent of the prosthetic heart valve expands to engage the annulus and the three leaflets of the prosthetic heart valve are disposed downstream of the annulus; and removing the delivery cannula from the patient.