Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Patients treated by mitral valve replacement for mitral insufficiency can expect relief of symptoms. Improvement in myocardial function is not likely, but the current status is preserved. For patients who received mechanical valves, anticoagulation...
therapy is continued lifelong to elevate the INR to between 2.0 and 4.5, depending on the type of mechanical valve implanted. Since thromboembolic complications are associated with initial implant of biological tissue valves, patients who received this type of valve take an anticoagulant for three months after surgery to maintain an INR of 2.0–3.0. If non-cardiac surgery or dental care is needed, the anticoagulation therapy is adjusted to prevent bleeding complications.
Patients who undergo mitral valve replacement for mitral stenosis can expect excellent improvement of symptoms. Those patients with symptoms consistent with NYHA class IV before surgery have better outcome after mitral valve replacement compared to no treatment.
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This narrated 3D animation shows how a valve of the heart would be replaced. Heart valve replacement surgery can be done using artificial valves, heart valves taken from certain animals, or from human cadavers.
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Mitral valve replacement is a cardiac surgery procedure in which a patient’s mitral valve is replaced by a different valve. Mitral valve replacement is typically performed robotically or manually, when the valve becomes too tight (mitral valve stenosis) for blood to flow into the left ventricle, or too loose (mitral valve regurgitation) in which case blood can leak into the left atrium and back up into the lung. Some individuals have a combination of mitral valve stenosis and mitral valve regurgitation or simply one or the other.
A mitral valve replacement/repair is performed to treat severe cases of mitral valve prolapse, heart valve stenosis, or other valvular diseases. Since a mitral valve replacement is an open heart surgical procedure, it requires placing the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass to stop blood flow through the heart when it is opened up.
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If you need heart surgery, you don't want a surgeon who only got a C in medical school. The same principle applies in helping people with mental illnesses.
-Ken Duckworth
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