Heart Valve Repair
Surgeons at Phoebe have many options to address heart valve defects with innovative repair techniques or replacement. Heart valves are amazing natural devices that control blood flow through the heart, opening and closing an average of more than 70 times a minute for your entire life.
Some people are born with defects in these valves that may not show up until later in life. Diseases and infections such as rheumatic fever can damage heart valves, as can the aging process.
Today’s surgical techniques provide real hope to many more patients for effective repair or correction of heart valve defect or damage.
Surgeons at Phoebe are the region’s leaders in performing heart valve repair, using the latest advanced surgical procedures and techniques.
Phoebe heart surgeons will try, when practical, to repair damaged heart valves, as natural repaired valves can provide restored heart function with less chance of infection and usually don’t require the patient to take anticoagulant drugs. When natural valve repair is not practical, Phoebe surgeons may replace a patient’s damaged heart valve with a mechanical valve, or an organic valve made from animal tissue.
The choice of technique depends on the needs and condition of each patient, but the goal is always to restore as much heart function as possible, in order to allow each patient to enjoy a long, active life.