What is Aortic Valve Surgery?
Aortic valve surgery is surgery to repair or replace an aortic valve that isn’t working correctly. The aortic valve lets blood flow from the left lower chamber of the heart (left ventricle) to the aorta, which is the body’s main blood vessel. The aorta distributes blood throughout the body.
When Do Aortic Valves Need to be Repaired of Replaced?
Aortic valves help pump blood out of the heart to the rest of the body. In a person with aortic valve disease, the aortic valve has a malfunction:
- Regurgitation – The aortic valve doesn’t close completely, causing blood to flow backward instead of forward through the valve.
- Stenosis – The aortic valve opening doesn’t form properly or becomes narrow, inhibiting the flow of blood out of the chambers of the heart. When this happens, the heart is forced to pump blood with increased force in order to move blood through the stiff (stenotic) valve.
Aortic valves can have regurgitation and stenosis at the same time.
When heart valves fail to open and close properly, the heart can become damaged. Heart valve problems are one cause of heart failure.
How can Aortic Valves be Repaired?
Aortic valves can be repaired through a surgery called valve-sparing aortic root replacement, also know as the David Procedure. Aortic root replacement may be an option for patients who have a condition called bicuspid aortic valve disease, an aortic aneurysm or other conditions that result in regurgitation. In aortic root replacement, only the diseased part of the aortic root is replaced. The aortic valve is left intact.
What are the Types of Aortic Valve Replacement?
There are three types of aortic valve replacement surgery:
- Aortic valve replacement with an aortic valve from a human donor or made from animal tissue.
- Aortic valve replacement with a mechanical valve made of metal, plastic, and/or pyrolytic carbon. Mechanical valves are very durable.
- Aortic valve replacement using the Ross Procedure. In the Ross Procedure, the aortic valve is removed and replaced by the patient’s pulmonary valve. Then the pulmonary valve is replaced with a donor pulmonary valve.
Learn more about Valvular Heart Disease.
Learn more about Aortic Disease.