Heart valve surgery There are four valves in the heart: aortic
valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, and pulmonary valve. The
valves are designed to control the direction of blood flow
through the heart. The opening and closing of the heart valves
produce the heart-beat sounds. Heart valve replacement may be
recommended for: - narrowing of the heart valve (stenosis) -
leaking of the heart valve Valve problems may be caused by
infections (rheumatic fever) or birth defects and may cause
heart failure (congestive heart failure) and infections
(infective endocarditis). The surgery is done while the patient
is deep-asleep and pain-free (general anesthesia). An incision
is made through the breast bone (sternum). |Procedure, part 1|
Heart valve surgery is open-heart surgery. 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. |Procedure, part 2| Valves may be
repaired or replaced. Replacement heart