Patent ID: 8105377

Claim:
A prosthetic heart valve assembly comprising: a prosthetic heart valve comprising a frame having a longitudinal axis extending between a proximal end and a distal end, at least one leaflet adapted to open and close relative to said frame, and a sewing cuff attached to the proximal end of said frame; a fixation band for affixing said prosthetic heart valve to tissue, said fixation band comprising: a body comprising a plurality of members arranged to form a tubular frame and including a plurality of radially-expanding members connected with members of the tubular frame so that when extended from the tubular frame, the radially-expanding members can secure the fixation band to tissue; a sewing cuff for securing said prosthetic heart valve to said fixation band, said sewing cuff being attached to a flexible material layer that is connected with the tubular frame of said body, the sewing cuff formed so as to be positioned distal to the distalmost end of the tubular frame; and said prosthetic heart valve being secured to said fixation band by sutures that connect the sewing cuff of said prosthetic heart valve to the sewing cuff of said fixation band so that the entirety of the prosthetic heart valve and said sewing cuffs are positioned distal to the tubular frame of the fixation band with the respective sewing cuffs adjacent to one another along the direction of said longitudinal axis.