Heart Valve Repair: Types, Procedure & Cost

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08.26.2018
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Heart valve plays a vital role flowing the blood in one direction, opening and closing the valves with each heartbeat. Pressure changes of the heartbeat cause the valves to open their cusps leaflets, to allow the flood to flow inside, and closing it instant to prevent the blood from flowing backwards.

Human heart consists of four valves:

  • Tricuspid Valve
  • Pulmonary Valve
  • Mitral Valve
  • Aortic  Valve

Any abnormal narrowing or leakage in these valves can lead to a severe heart condition that can even cause death.

Heart Valve Repair is an operational technique required for fixing and treating the defects in heart valves including valvular heart diseases. Valve repair is an alternative of heart valve replacement.

Heart Valve Malfunction Symptoms

  • Discomfort in Chest
  • Swelling in feet, ankles, or abdomen
  • Rapid Weight Gain
  • Palpitations
  • Continuous Dizziness or Weakness
  • Unexplained shortness in breath
  • Fainting or Loss of Consciousness
  • Inability to perform daily tasks

What causes heart valves to fail?

The tightness in the opening of the heart valve makes the heart to work ten times harder for pumping the blood through it. So much pressure can tamper with the tissues of the heart cause heart failure. All valves of the heart are prone to become stenotic causing hardness in the pipes, restricting the blood flow. 

Need for a Heart Valve Repair

The primary goal of heart valve surgery is to lengthen life and cure the problem in the heart by restoring heart valve functionality, caused due to a disease or tissue damage.

Repair or Replace?

For a condition that doesn’t necessarily demand heart valve replacement, repair is the best medical alternative. Repair preserve and utilises the patient’s tissue instead of requiring a donor. However, In some severe cases in which the heart valve is too damaged to be repaired, it is replaced.

Types of Heart Valve Repair

Mitral Valve Repair – is used for treating regurgitation (leakage) or stenosis (narrowing) in the mitral valve of the heart.

Aortic Valve Repair – uses a surgical procedure for correcting aortic valve disorders. It is a more complicated treatment procedure compared to mitral valve repair. There are two surgical approaches used in this procedure:

•    The Remodelling Technique

•    The Re-implantation Technique 

Tricuspid Valve Repair – is used for correcting tricuspid regurgitation (a condition in which the heart’s tricuspid valve doesn’t close properly, causing the backward flow of blood that can lead to leakage).

Heart Valve Repair Procedure

Balloon Valvuloplasty

In most cases, valve tightness or narrowness can be relieved using a balloon valvuloplasty. It is done within a cardiac catheterisation, which is relatively less invasive than an open-heart surgery or a general surgery.

Balloon Valvuloplasty is a procedure in which an expandable balloon connected to a small catheter is inserted inside the heart, and is placed in the tightened valve. Then the balloon is expanded that separates the leaflets opening the heart valve.

Heart Valve Repair Cost

Heart Valve Repair can cost starts from USD 7,000 depending on the treatment procedure as well as the instruments used in the treatment, which is ten times less than the fees for a Heart Valve Replacement procedure that can exceed over USD 200,000 in countries like USA and UK.

Also Check: Heart Surgery Cost in India

FAQs

Is heart valve repair better than heart valve replacement?

Both these treatments are equally effective. However, the suitability of each treatment will depend on the case of the patient and the medical procedure that he/she requires.

Depending on the condition of the patient, heart valve repair is a better alternative than heart valve replacement. Heart Valve Replacement demands an open-heart surgery that is more invasive compared to Heart Valve Repair.

How long does a Heart Valve Repair last?

After Heart Valve Repair, most patients don’t require reoperation for ten years. Mitral valve repair can last for about 20 years after the procedure.   

Explore our website to learn more about different heart conditions and the best treatment available for them in India.

Hemant Verma

As a content writer, I enjoy juggling words and sentences that express my innermost thoughts, and al..

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