Treatments & Services

Complex Aortic, Mitral and Tricuspid Valve Surgery

Valve surgery is used to correct narrowed or leaking valves (heart valve disease). Some repair and replacement procedures can be performed using minimally invasive techniques, such as balloon valvuloplasty and transcatheter aortic valve implantation, but in many cases, an open surgical approach is required.

Mitral valves are more likely than aortic valves to be able to be repaired. Generally, a damaged aortic valve will need to be replaced with either a mechanical valve (made of artificial components) or a bioprosthetic valve (made of human or animal tissue).

Mitral valve repair is usually performed to correct a leaking valve that is damaged as a result of either a congenital (present from birth) condition or, more likely, degenerative disease, which often occurs with age. A severely damaged mitral valve may require replacement.

The tricuspid valve surgery is less common and often performed as part of a mitral or aortic valve repair or replacement.