Proven innovations for treatment

The Heart Valve Center has acquired expertise in over 25 years of mitral and tricuspid valve repair and 30 years of aortic valve surgery. The last 10 years have seen the development of innovative procedures which appear to decrease the need for additional surgical interventions:

  • Aortic valve preservation: your native aortic valve leaflets are preserved, replacing only the non-moving parts of the valve.
  • Stentless aortic valve prostheses: these valves are equivalent to human valve transplants, except they come from a pig and are treated with a substance that prevents you from recognizing them as foreign. They perform exactly like your own valve (in fact, your ECHO will look virtually normal after surgery) and appear to be showing less wear and deterioration than standard pig valves.
  • Aortic root replacement: involves the removal of your aortic valve and surrounding sinuses. The coronary arteries are reimplanted into your new aortic root.

Mechanical valves are also implanted when appropriate, but in the U.S. there has been a major shift from mechanical prostheses that contain no biologic parts, to tissue prostheses, that contain no mechanical parts. This is due to evidence that the quality of life after a tissue prosthesis is superior to that with a mechanical prosthesis, due to the avoidance of the need for blood-thinner (Coumadin), which have complications of their own.

Ultimately, the recommended choice of procedure and/or valve prosthesis will reflect what is best for you, and not what is most convenient for the surgeon. No medical device company will influence your surgeon's recommendations or valve selection.

Smaller incisions and improved equipment maximize your comfort and safety.

HVC surgeons are committed to making heart valve surgery as safe and as least invasive as possible. Our investigations have led to significant improvements including:

  • Alternative ways to use the heart-lung machine to avoid stroke, our findings were published in 2004, and have vastly reduced the incidence of neurological complications following valve surgery at UH CMC.
  • Improved the heart-lung machine circuitry to minimize fluid addition to the patient’s blood volume. The patient is diluted less during surgery, which is decreasing the need for blood transfusions afterwards. Many of our patients are able to have valve surgery and never receive any blood products.
  • Our advanced imaging techniques have virtually eliminated technical difficulties with re-operations (patients who require a second or third valve operation due to malfunction of a previously-implanted prosthetic valve, or development of additional valve disease); and reduced mortality and complication rates accordingly.
  • Smaller incisions for less invasive procedures have been developed for both aortic and mitral valve procedures, and are applied as long as they do not compromise patient safety.

Our clinicians take every possible measure to create a seamless transition between your primary care physician, cardiologist, and cardiac surgeon. We strive to minimize redundancy and maximize efficiency in your evaluation and treatment of heart valve disease, and provide the greatest possible degree of safety.

Do I have to have surgery?

The presence of valve malfunction alone does not mean you need surgery. There are many medications that improve heart and valve function that should be investigated first. You must meet criteria that indicate you would benefit more from surgical intervention than medical therapy. Should surgery be recommended, we look to see if we can repair your valve, and not necessarily replace it. However, if repair does not seem feasible (this can be determined preoperatively), your HVC surgeon and cardiologists will help you choose the most appropriate valve for your particular medical profile. Ultimately, the choice of procedure and/or valve prosthesis should be a combination of your wishes and the best current practice, not what is most convenient for your surgeon.

Heart valve surgery can be done safely as long as all the risk factors affecting you can be accounted for and minimized, as much as possible. The treatment used for someone else may not be right for you. To that extent, w e will complete a thorough evaluation to determine your specific needs.