Valvular Heart Surgery

What is heart valve surgery?

Heart valve surgery refers to the repair, or replacement of one or more of the heart’s four valves: aortic valve, mitral valve, pulmonary valve, and tricuspid valve. Each valve supports and regulates blood through the heart and impacts overall function of other essential organs.

Through advanced research and the latest technological equipment, our team utilizes the latest treatment options for valvular surgery in effort to reduce recovery time and help patients return to a next-to-normal life.

There are two types of valve conditions that can cause problems for patients, regurgitation and stenosis.  Regurgitation occurs when the valves do not close completely, causing some of the blood to recess backwards, rather than forward in the heart.  Stenosis occurs when the valve becomes hardened and does not perform with maximum efficiency, forcing the heart to work harder to pump the blood through the valve.

Valvular heart disease remains an integral part of the division’s clinical practice. With an increasingly older population, interventions on the cardiac valves will inevitably increase.  We are developing and performing the latest techniques in aortic valve repair. If replacement is required, then a full armamentarium is at our disposal including mechanical, bioprosthetic (stented and stentless), allograft (“Homograft”), and the Ross procedure. Minimally invasive approaches to the aortic valve are also offered.

Because the benefits of mitral valve repair have been established, the latest repair techniques are used. In addition, minimally invasive approaches including robotic mitral valve repair are performed.

Research on new technologies or the treatment of heart diseases including percutaneous heart valve replacement are performed.

Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair
Aortic Valve Surgery
Mitral Valve Surgery
Tricuspid Valve Surgery