It's not every day that a news release crosses my desk quoting Dr. Denton Cooley, the world-renowned heart surgeon.

But that's what happened Wednesday when St. Jude Medical announced that it has treated more than 2 million patients with its mechanical heart valve.

The med-tech company's mechanical valve has been available to physicians for more than 30 years. While other kinds of valves have been introduced since, including tissue valves and valves that are implanted in a minimally invasive procedure, the mechanical valve has proved a stalwart product for the Little Canada-based company.

Cooley, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, has pioneered many techniques used in heart surgery and performed the first successful human heart transplant in the United States in 1968. Said Cooley of the St. Jude valve: "I'm very confident using the St. Jude Medical mechanical heart valve in almost all circumstances where a valve replacement is indicated."

Janet Moore covers medical technology for the Star Tribune.