Leakage flow through mechanical prostheses: an initiator of platelet damage

The clinical histories of two bileaflet valves suggest that leakage flow could be an initiator of thromboembolic complications. To test this hypothesis, measurements of the flow field around bileaflet prostheses were combined with measurements of blood damage initiated by leakage flow through a prosthesis. The results of these studies show that leakage flow through bileaflet prostheses creates high Reynolds shear stresses and is responsible for platelet trauma.