Heart Valve Repair
Heart valve repair surgery is open-heart surgery that is done while the patient is under general anesthesia. An incision is made through the breast bone (sternum). Tubes are used to re-route the blood away from the heart to a heart-lung bypass machine to keep the blood oxygenated and circulating while the heart is being operated on.
There are four valves that a surgeon can repair during heart valve repair surgery:
- Aortic valve
- Mitral valve
- Tricuspid valve
- Pulmonary valve
Heart valve repair is used to restore proper function to diseased heart valves. The valves are designed to control the direction of blood flow through the heart. The opening and closing of the heart valves produce the sound of the heartbeat. If heart valve repair is not an option for the surgeon, heart valves can be replaced with various types of natural and artificial valves.
Learn more about heart valve repair and the Heart Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.