Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery at Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
Minimally invasive valve surgery repairs or replaces a diseased or damaged heart valve. It is a cardiac catheterization procedure. This surgery is most commonly performed on the mitral valve and the aortic valve. Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement is also called transcatheter aortic valve implantation/replacement (TAVI/TAVR).
Call Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican hospitals at (702) 616-4900 to find a cardiologist who performs minimally invasive valve surgery in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV.
Why Mitral Valve & Aortic Valve Repair Surgery are Performed
Minimally invasive valve surgery repairs or replaces heart valves that do not work as well as they should. Heart valves are small tissue flaps between the four chambers of the heart. They keep blood moving forward through the heart. If they become narrowed or floppy, they can cause problems with heart function. Minimally invasive procedures enable doctors to fix these valves without performing open heart surgery.
The most common reasons to have minimally invasive valve surgery include:
- Significant narrowing of a valve, which restricts blood flow out of the heart
- Chest pain or shortness of breath due to a valve problem
- Significant backward flow of blood through the valve (regurgitation)
What to Expect from Heart Valve Surgery
An interventional cardiologist performs minimally invasive heart valve surgery. The procedure takes place in a cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab) at the San Martin or Siena hospital. You will likely receive sedation to keep you drowsy throughout the procedure. It usually requires at least an overnight stay in the hospital.
The doctor will make a small incision in a major vein, usually in your groin. Then, the doctor inserts thin, flexible instruments into the blood vessel. Guiding these instruments to the faulty heart valve, the surgeon repairs or replaces the damaged valve. You may feel mild stinging or burning in the chest during the procedure.
Recovery After Heart Valve Repair in Las Vegas, NV
You will need to spend several hours after the procedure lying flat on your back to allow the incision site to seal. This may occur in a recovery area or in a special cardiac care unit of the hospital.
Before you go home the next day, you will receive detailed instructions regarding follow-up appointments, medications, and activity restrictions. You should promptly report any unusual symptoms to your health care team.
Heart valve repair or replacement generally improves heart function and blood flow. As a result, you may feel much more energetic after minimally invasive valve surgery.
Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican's San Martin and Siena hospitals offer minimally invasive valve surgery and a range of other minimally invasive surgical procedures to improve cardiovascular health in Las Vegas and Henderson.