Valve Surgeries

The heart has four chambers. There are two small chambers at the top of the heart called atria, and two larger chambers at the bottom called ventricles.

Each ventricle has two valves:

One valve controls the blood flowing into the ventricle
The other valve controls the blood flowing out of the ventricle

Each valve is made up of flaps, also called leaflets or cusps. These flaps open and close, acting as one-way gates for the blood to flow through.
Aortic valve surgery

The aortic valve controls the flow of blood out of the left ventricle of the heart to the body’s main artery (the aorta). From the aorta, the blood flows to the rest of the body.The aortic valve opens to allow blood to flow from the heart out to the rest of your body. It then closes to stop any blood leaking back into the heart.

Illustration of aortic valve replacement

Aorta
Aortic Valve
Plastic repair of valve
Mitral valve

Causes for the aortic valve surgery

The aortic valve may need to be replaced for two reasons:

Narrowing of the valve (aortic stenosis)
Leaking of the valve (aortic regurgitation)

Procedure

During surgery, a cut is made in the chest to access the heart. The heart is then stopped and a heart-lung bypass machine is used to take over the circulation during the operation. The aortic valve is removed and replaced with an artificial valve (prosthesis). The heart is then started again and the incision in the chest is closed.

There are two main types of replacement valve:

Mechanical valves
Biological valves

Risks of valve replacement

Rare complications following aortic valve replacement are:

Infection
Clotting
Stroke
The valve may wear out or become damaged
Irregular heart beat (arrhythmia)