Valve Surgery

What is it
A heart valve replacement is a surgical procedure in which a surgeon inserts an artificial valve to replace an original heart valve that is not working well. You should ask your doctor how these risks apply to you. Call the doctor immediately if:

You develop a fever.
You develop redness, swelling, pain, or drainage from your incision.
You become short of breath or notice swelling in your legs or ankles.
You develop chest pain.
You have problems speaking or with your vision.
You notice numbness or paralysis in your arms or legs

Why is it done?
Valve surgery is performed to restore the valve function, which is impaired as a result of disease process.
Reasons for doing this procedure are:

One or more of the valves in your heart may not open or close all the way.
The valve may not be working well because it is scarred by disease or because it was abnormal at birth.

It is used only when:
Medicines are not effective.
Opening or repairing abnormal valves will not work.

How is it done?
Usually valve surgery is performed through open-heart surgery, which is done on cardio pulmonary bypass using Heart lung Machine. You will receive a general anesthetic. This drug will relax your muscles, keep you from feeling pain, and put you in a deep sleep. The doctor will make a cut (incision) in your chest and divide the sternum (the flat bone in the center of the chest). The doctor will connect you to a heart-lung machine, which will take over the work of the heart and lungs during the operation.

The doctor will stop your heart and make a cut in it to expose the valve. He or she will remove the valve and replace it with an artificial one. The doctor will then close the cut in your heart, restart your heart, disconnect the heart-lung machine, and close the incision in your chest.

The doctor will leave some tubes in your chest to drain blood and fluid, which normally gather there or in the sac around the heart. The tubes are removed in a day or two.

When it is done/advised ?
Valve surgery is done/advised when valve function is significantly impaired and as a result it starts affecting smooth functioning of the heart. This manifests with various symptoms, which patient feels or it is assessed with various tests.

Before ... Precautions & prerequisites
What do I do if I need this / (contact /book appointment…)
For proper assessment before surgery, your need undergo certain tests to assess valve function, heart function and functions of various other organ systems in the body. For this you need to be examined by a cardiologist who can be contacted through appointment on phone no. Once valve surgery is decided, patient is admitted in the hospital and work-up initiated.. Any focus of infection, any where in the body, especially teeth is identified and treated before valve surgery. Anticoagulants (Acitrom /Warfarin) are stopped three days prior to surgery and aspirin seven days prior to surgery..

Care after the procedure
You will be in the intensive care unit for a few days, depending on your condition. You may then go to a regular hospital bed. Your entire stay in the hospital may last 2 to 8 days. You may need to take anticoagulants (blood thinners) the rest of your life to prevent blood clots from forming on the artificial valve and causing a stroke or other complications. Ask your doctor what other steps you should take and when you should come back for a checkup..

Tariff
Package deal rates for Valve Surgery in an otherwise healthy person is 1.8 Lac plus cost of valve plus extra consumables as and when used.
For a single valve replacement this works out to be between 2.4 to 2.6 Lac.
This package includes up to 10 days stay in the hospital.
Charges will be slightly higher for re-operations, high-risk operations or any additional operation done concurrently.

After
You will be in the intensive care unit for a few days, depending on your condition. You may then go to a regular hospital bed. Your entire stay in the hospital may last 2 to 8 days. You may need to take anticoagulants (blood thinners) the rest of your life to prevent blood clots from forming on the artificial valve and causing a stroke or other complications. Ask your doctor what other steps you should take and when you should come back for a checkup..