Get a crash course in Valve replacement surgery

Our heart has four valves that pump blood to various part of the body.  These are Aortic Valve, Mitral Valve,  Pulmonary valve and Tricuspid Valve. The functioning of these valves decays with age and other health disorders. Valves are required to open and close properly so that an adequate and balanced amount of blood is pumped in and out of the body. The failure of Stenosis  i.e. no opening of the aortic valve and Regurgitation i.e no closing of the aortic valve. Valve replacement surgery is needed when valves not opening and closing properly.

The symptoms that suggest that you need a heart replacement surgery are :

• Sleepiness
• Pain in Chest
• Breathing problems
• Increase in heartbeat or palpitation
• Feet and ankle swelling
• Gain in weight

Few tests before the operation include X-ray of the Chest, CT scan, Electrocardiogram (ECG) of heart under the various condition, electrocardiography etc.

The entire valve can be removed or replaced by an artificial valve made of plastic, metal or membranes of animals. Doctors follow the following mechanism to perform the operation. They make a small incision opening up the chest cavity to reach up to the heart. There they would use blood pumping tubes to be used in place of heart as a pumping device while the operation is taking place. The advantage of this type of surgery unlike the previous methodology is that the heart is subjected to a less damage and the risk of failure in operations is also reduced. As only a small part near the right chest is made a cut it helps in speedy recovery of the patient. This technique is known as minithoracotomy

It’s not possible to have a surgery with cent percent accuracy. The Valve replacement surgery to have its drawbacks like:

• Profuse bleeding at the time of surgery or after it
• Clotting of blood at the surgery point leading to blockage
• Problem in breathing
• Varying heartbeat
• Pneumonia

Many of the cardio specialists in India didn’t have time and opportunity to learn the cardio surgery techniques which involve less wear and tear on human chest part. As a result in India still, valve replacement technique called median sternotomy s used where the breastbone is split apart and a large cut over the surface of the chest is made. This causes a larger wound and it takes a longer time to heal. The pain that the patients undergo is tremendous and it causes a deep scar mark on the body of the patient. It’s a mark that stretches over 15 inches from the neck to the surgery point i.e. the breastbone. To make your valve replacement surgery in India you have to select the best hospital or institution for you.

Conclusion:  After the surgery, the patient is kept under strict monitoring so as to prevent any side effect or syndromes as above. Any kind of a cough and cold leads to accumulation of mucus in the lungs which causes an adverse effect on breathing and surgery point during a cough or sneeze.It is not advised to make too much movement during this period and to make most of the activities in place.