Valve replacement surgery is the replacement of one or more of the

heart valve A heart valve is a one-way valve that allows blood to flow in one direction through the chambers of the heart. Four valves are usually present in a mammalian heart and together they determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart ...

s with either an

artificial heart valve An artificial heart valve is a one-way valve implanted into a person's heart to replace a heart valve that is not functioning properly ( valvular heart disease). Artificial heart valves can be separated into three broad classes: mechanical he ...

or a bioprosthesis (

homograft Allotransplant (''allo-'' meaning "other" in Greek) is the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs to a recipient from a genetically non-identical donor of the same species. The transplant is called an allograft, allogeneic transplant, ...

from human tissue or

xenograft Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenograf ...

e.g. from pig). It is an alternative to

valve repair Heart valve repair is a cardiac surgery procedure, carried out to repair one or more faulty heart valves. In some valvular heart diseases repair where possible is preferable to valve replacement. A mechanical heart valve is a replacement valve ...

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Procedures

There are four procedures *

Aortic valve replacement Aortic valve replacement is a procedure whereby the failing aortic valve of a patient's heart is replaced with an artificial heart valve. The aortic valve may need to be replaced because: * The valve is leaky (aortic insufficiency, also known as ...

Mitral valve replacement Mitral valve replacement is a procedure whereby the diseased mitral valve of a patient's heart is replaced by either a mechanical or tissue (bioprosthetic) valve. The mitral valve may need to be replaced because: * The valve is leaky ( mitral va ...

Tricuspid valve replacement The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, at the superior portion of the right ventricle. The function of the valve is to allow blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ven ...

Pulmonary valve replacement The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

Current aortic valve replacement approaches include closed heart surgery, Very invasive cardiac surgery (VICS) and Very invasive, Scapulae-based aortic valve replacement. Catheter replacement of the aortic valve (called trans-aortic valve replacement or implementation AVR or TAVI is a minimally invasive option for those suffering from

aortic valve stenosis Aortic stenosis (AS or AoS) is the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart (where the aorta begins), such that problems result. It may occur at the aortic valve as well as above and below this level. It typically gets worse ...

. TAVR is commonly performed by guiding a catheter from the groin to the narrowed valve via the aorta using realtime x-ray technology. A metal stent containing a valve is then deployed using a balloon to press the stent into the valve in effect opening the stenosed (or narrowed) valve and lodging the stent in place. The procedure was first approved in the United States in November 2011 as an alternative for people deemed a poor candidate for open approach replacement; however, TAVR has been successfully implemented into practice in other countries prior to 2011.

Medical uses

In those between 50 and 70 years of age bioprosthetic and mechanical aortic valves have similar overall outcomes with respect to stroke and survival.

References

{{Cardiac procedures Cardiac surgery