Heart Valve Repair/Replacement Surgery

Overview

What is Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery?

Your physician may decide that the diseased valve(s) needs to be surgically repaired or replaced. Repair or replacement of heart valves involves open-heart surgery, which means that the chest must be opened in the operating room and the heart stopped for a time so that the surgeon can repair or replace the valve(s). The patient is completely sedated during the entire procedure. In order to open the chest, the breastbone, or sternum, is cut in half and spread apart. The diseased valve is repaired using a ring to support the native valve, or the entire native valve is removed and replaced by an artificial valve. Artificial valves may be mechanical (made of metal or plastic) or tissue (made from animal valves or human valves taken from cadavers). Once the repair or replacement has been completed, the surgeon will observe the beating heart to make sure that the valves and the heart are working well. The breastbone is then put back together with wires, and the skin incision is closed. The patient is then taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) to recover from the surgery.

Reasons for the Procedure

Valve repair or replacement surgery is performed to correct the problems caused by one or more diseased heart valves.

Risks of the Procedure

Possible risks associated with heart valve repair or replacement surgery include, but are not limited to, the following:

• bleeding during or after the surgery
• blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or lung problems
• infection at the incision site
• pneumonia
• breathing problems
• kidney failure
• altered heart rhythms, or dysrhythmias

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