Live Life Team
The Replacement of the valve means, an open heart surgery which would treat the issue happening due to the aortic valve. The valve is responsible for letting the blood flow through the left ventricle to the aorta. The operation involves opening the chest area and operating on the heart. The heart is stopped during the surgery and circulation is taken up by a heart-lung machine. The replacement may be needed in case of Aortic valve narrowing down or a situation where the blood flows back to the left ventricle also called as leaking valve. The valve may develop problems due to aging, calcium deposits on the valve or an aorta disease.
Getting Ready
A complicated operation needs to be performed and there are lots of activities before and during the operation. Before the operation, a clinical test is done and a physical examination as a pre-condition. Then some basic medications are started and also previous reports would be asked for. The treatment would expect the patient to quit smoking, try to watch ones weight, some gentle exercises, positive thinking and dental checkups.
Treatment
The treatment is an operation by the surgeon. The heart is stopped and patient is put onto the heart-lung machine. Small incisions and instruments are used to accomplish this. The bypass machine is still required and more developments would reduce the complication of the operation. The replacements made during the operation are mechanical as well as biological. The mechanical option is hard wearing and is for a lifetime. The surface can develop some blood clotting over time and can make some clicking noise which can be disturbing to the patient. The biological one can last for 12-15 years and also reduces the risk of any clotting. Also this type would need to be given some anticoagulants after the surgery for few weeks. These valves are not going to last for a long time, hence may need another replacement during the lifetime.
Complications
There is a definite risk of death during the operation to be carried out and the chances could be a 5% and with the improvements in technology with time, the chances are down to 2-3% currently. Strokes can also come along after the surgery. The chances are quite low with surgeons also keeping the best care about it, but the age can also play a factor around it. There is a scoring system in place by euroSCORE which should be able to tell you the risk based on the questions asked and one could get at least some inputs on this. The doctors recommend the surgery since the benefits out do the risks and it can be a sure winner.
Afterwards
The patient would need to stick to the ICU for 24 to 48 hours to heal up and a close monitoring. The patient should be able to leave the hospital in a stint of 10 days if everything goes fine.
Results
The surgery is rated to be quite successful with a 97.7% chances. There could be some complications like infections, clotting, or a valve wearing out or some kind of damage. The heart beat could also show a little irregularity in beating which is a temporary affect and 1-2% of people may need a pacemaker to be inserted.
