Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic valve replacement is a procedure in which surgery is used to repair or replace a diseased aortic heart valve. There are 4 valves in the heart: the Aortic, Mitral, Tricuspid and the Pulmonary valves. These valves are designed to control the direction of blood flow through the heart. The opening and closing of the heart valves produce the sound of the heartbeat.
Aortic valve replacement is open-heart surgery that is done while the patient is under general anesthesia. An incision is made through the breast bone (sternum). Tubes are used to re-route the blood away from the heart to a heart-lung bypass machine to keep the blood oxygenated and circulating while the heart is being operated on.
Aortic valve replacement can be achieved using either natural (biologic) or artificial (mechanical) replacement heart valves:
- Natural valves are from human donors (cadavers).
- Modified natural valves come from animal donors (porcine valves are from pigs, bovine are from cows) and are placed in synthetic rings.
- Artificial valves are made of metal.
The Heart Center of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center was one of the first centers in the country to offer a new "natural" aortic valve replacement to patients with diseased or damaged aortic heart valves. The Freestyle® valve was tested extensively in six centers, including the Heart Center, before being released for general use. Developed by Medtronic, the Freestyle® is a pig valve designed to be closer to nature than some other options. More than 100 of our Heart Center patients received the Freestyle® valve during the five year clinical trial.
Learn more about aortic valve replacement and the Heart Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.