Heart valve surgery
Heart valve surgery is used to repair or replace diseased heart valves. Blood that flows between different chambers of your heart must flow through a heart valve. Blood that flows out of your heart into large arteries must also flow through a heart valve. These valves open up enough so that blood can flow through. They then close, keeping blood from flowing backward.
There are 4 valves in our heart:
1) Aortic valve
2) Mitral valve
3)Tricuspid valve
4) Pulmonic valve
The Aortic Valve is the most common valve to be replaced. The mitral valve is the most common valve to be repaired.
In Conventional open heart surgery, the surgeon makes a surgical cut in your breastbone to reach the heart and aorta. You are connected to a heart-lung bypass machine.Your heart is stopped while you are connected to this machine.The surgeon then repairs or replaces the valve and gradually restarts the heart.
Minimally invasive valve surgery [MICS] is performed through the right side of chest without cutting the breast bone .This leads to early recovery as it is less traumatic and involves minimal blood loss.Chances of infection are also minimised.
Percutaneous surgery is done through a catheter inserted through the skin without an actual cut .
PBMV for mitral stenosis
TAVR for very high risk aortic stenosis
If your valve is repairable, we usually try and salvage the valve using ring annuloplasty and leaflet repair techniques. This is the most physiological solution for valve problem.The patient usually does not require medicines after this procedure except for initial few months. Valve repair is best for the mitral and tricuspid valves. The aortic valve is usually not repaired.
If your valve is too damaged, you will need a new valve. This is called valve replacement surgery. We then would remove your valve and put a new one in place. The main types of new valves are:
Mechanical — made of man-made materials, such as metal (stainless steel or titanium) or ceramic. These valves last the longest, but you will need to take blood-thinning medicine, such as warfarin (Coumadin) or aspirin, for the rest of your life.
Biological — made of human or animal tissue. These valves last 12 to 15 years, but you may not need to take blood thinners for life.
TRICUSPID REPAIR
MITRAL VALVE REPAIR