A heart valve surgery is known as open-heart surgery, which is performed to fix an individual’s heart valves. The heart controls the blood streaming from the heart’s chambers and four heart valves including pulmonary, mitral, aortic, and tricuspid valves. Every valve contains a flap known as the leaflets that open and close during every heartbeat. In heart valve surgery, the surgeon treats an individual’s diseased or damaged heart valve that does not perform its job correctly and damages the blood circulation to the entire body.
Surgeons can perform various surgeries such as minimally invasive and open-heart surgery which is also named’heart valve surgery’. However, the type of heart valve surgery widely depends upon the numerous health conditions, age, and the kind of heart disorder an individual encounters.
Types of heart valve surgeries:
There are two types of heart valve surgeries that include;
- Annuloplasty:An annuloplasty reshapes and tightens the annulus (ring) around the heart valves. It is conducted during the procedure of heart valve surgery.
- Valvuloplasty:A valvuloplasty is a procedure to fix the damaged heart valve that contains a narrowed opening. The stenosis and the leaflets might become stiff or thick and fuse. The valve stenosis leads to the reduction in the blood streaming through the valves of an individual’s heart.
Who performs heart valve surgery?
A cardiothoracic consultant performs medical surgery whospecializes in the surgical methods of the heart, esophagus, lungs, and other organs present in the chest. A cardiologist would first study the patient’s condition and discuss it with a cardiothoracic surgeon. Moreover, the cardiologist examines the heart and provides the best possible treatment according to the patient’s condition. He might feel the need to refer a patient to a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Requirements for a Cardiac Surgeon
A cardiothoracic surgeon must have 3-4 years of bachelor’s degree and 4 years of medical schooling for a medical doctor of osteopathic medicine.In addition, he/she must hold a six-year integrated cardiac surgery residence or complete a five-year general surgery, including two or three years of cardiothoracic learning.
Who should undergo heart valve surgery?
Heart valve surgery consultation is performed for patients with congenital heart valve disorder or sufferers diagnosed with heart valve disorder. These heart disorders are often long-term illnesses and can progress quickly. Furthermore, the consultation can be recommended for the patient who requires a second opinion. This type of illness increases rapidly and causes severe heart symptoms; it is necessary to have a consultation to prevent symptoms.
What happens during the consultation?
During the consultation, the surgeon studies the medical history of an individual. Moreover, a surgeon may also undergo additional examination before the surgery according to the patient’s condition. The consultation might include a discussion about certain factors such as risks, complications, treatment costs, the techniques used before and after the surgery, and the follow-up care. The consultation session can take almost an hour. The follow-up session can be scheduled before the surgery according to the patient’s condition; however, in severeconditionswhen urgent surgery is required, one session of consultation will be possible.
The possible examinations performed before surgery
- The surgeon might advise an individual to perform an electrocardiogram, often known as EGG or EKG. It is a machine used to record the heart’s electrical activity on graph paper.
- An echocardiogram test is a graphic outline of the heart’s movement. It consists of a hand-held wand placed on an individual’s chest, which provides the image of the chamber and the heart valves. It aids the sonographer in evaluating the pumping action of the heart.
- The exercise stress test aids in analyzing the performance of the heart while performing routine tasks. This test requires an individual to walk on a treadmill or an exercising machine along with the EKG to check the heart’s activity.
- A cardiac surgeon may also suggest an ST scan or an X-ray to get an insight view of the heart chambers and
