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Dr. Ramchandani
Heart Surgeon
Specializing in
Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass
Surgery
Houston, Texas
Tel. (713) 790-2822
Fax (713) 790-2859 |
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Aortic Valve Replacement
What is an aortic valve replacement?
An aortic valve replacement is a surgical procedure to implant a prosthetic valve in the place of a damaged aortic valve. The valve replacement is performed for constricted flow (stenosis) or regurgitation when the valve opens too much. The prosthetic valve may be either mechanical or biological.
Mechanical valves are constructed out of metals, polymers, and other materials. Biological valves consist of donated human tissue or animal tissue. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with both forms of valves. Your doctor will be able to recommend the appropriate prosthesis. |
Normal Aortic Valve |
Mechnical Valves
| There are a number of excellent mechanical prostheses available today. All perform equally well. The principle advantage of mechanical valves is their excellent durability. The valves available today simply do not wear out! Their main disadvantage is that blood has a tendency to clot on all mechanical valves. If this happens the valve will not function normally. Therefore, patients with these valves must take anticoagulants (blood thinners) for life. There is also a small but definite risk of blood clots causing stroke, even when taking anticoagulants. |
Aortic Mechanical Valve |
Biological Valves
There are a variety of biological alternatives for mitral valve replacement. Most are made from pig aortic valves. Their key advantage is that they have a reduced risk of blood clots forming on the valve itself causing valve dysfunction or stroke. The key disadvantage of biological or tissue valves is that they have more limited durability as compared with mechanical valves.
They will wear out given enough time. The rate at which they wear out, however, depends on the patient's age. A young boy might wear out such a valve in only a few years, while the same valve might last 10-15 years in a middle aged person, and even longer in a patient over the age of 65. Of course, as we grow older we expect that we will not need the valve for as many years as our life expectancy is less. The general consensus is that a tissue valve will not need to be replaced if used in a patient over the age of 65 years. |
Aortic Biological Valve |
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