There are many kinds of heart valve disease. Some affect your aortic valve that directs blood to your aorta. Others affect the mitral valve, which is found between the left atrium and left ventricle.
Overview
If your valve has stenosis, it means the flaps of the valve have thickened or stiffened, narrowing the opening and restricting the flow of blood. If you have valve regurgitation, it means your valve is leaking. Sometimes this is called valve prolapse. You can have regurgitation, prolapse, etc. on other valves besides your mitral valve.
Both stenosis and regurgitation put a strain on your heart. Valves that do not function properly sometimes produce a sound that your physician can hear. This is called a heart murmur. Some heart valve diseases may not cause you any problems. Others are more serious and may lead to heart failure, stroke, blood clots, or sudden cardiac arrest.
Today, there are a variety of ways to repair heart defects, including a damaged valve, or to replace it completely.
Our approach
Our team of cardiologists, surgeons, nurses, and other medical specialists combines advanced technologies with compassionate care to treat your heart valve disorder.
If you are a high-risk patient with aortic stenosis, you may be a candidate for a minimally invasive procedures called a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). In this procedure, the valve is advanced to your heart with a catheter and mounted on a stent frame within the diseased valve, eliminating your need for open-heart surgery.
Aortic Valve Replacement
Treatment options for the aortic valve have had an explosive evolution. The aortic valve is most commonly affected by calcium that develops with aging. In addition, infections may result in affecting how the valve works. The valve also can leak, either from aging, calcium, infection, and other reasons.
Aortic stenosis is the most common reason for an aortic valve replacement. One effective but less common treatment option is transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR. In addition to TAVR, we use these additional options:
Standard sternotomy—This requires an incision through the middle of the breastbone which is then fused completely at the completion of the procedure so as to eliminate any discomfort from the breastbone. Our anesthesia team works closely with the patients to maximize pain control and minimize any discomfort.
Minimally invasive surgery—We have two approaches, and for both we assess each person’s anatomy and medical condition to choose the surgery that is safest. The first and most common surgery goes through half the breastbone. The second approach is through an incision on the right side of the chest.
Essentially all open aortic valve replacement procedures require the use of the heart-lung machine, which was pioneered at the University of Minnesota.
Aortic Valve Repair
Sometimes the aortic valve may not need complete replacement. This is most commonly with a leaky aortic valve. If a patient has a leaky aortic valve, we may replace it with a biological or mechanical valve, but occasionally we may find a very specific mechanism for why the valve is leaky. If that mechanism can be corrected, surgical repair may be a better option than replacement.
Other Treatments
Minimally invasive robotic surgery
Percutaneous mitral valve repair
Aortic root repair
Paravalvular leak closures