What Occurs During Heart Valve Replacement Procedure

Posted by admin

September 21, 2009

Any one facing a major medical procedure has questions. It’s a good idea to get them answered before the procedure so you will be informed and not quite as scared about what’s going to happen. If you and your family & friends are comfortable, it makes the whole process a little easier. If you are going to have heart valve replacement, you should ask your doctor for all of the particulars about what is going to happen before, during, and after the op so you can prepare yourself and know what can be expected.

Before your heart valve replacement, you may get hooked up to an IV, and you’ll have to get rid of any jewelry, glasses, dentures, contacts, and hearing aids. Basically, anything that you are wearing that can be removed. The anesthesiologist and the doctor will talk to you about what is going to happen, and youwill be given a sedative.

See also : mitral valve prolapse

In the op, youwill be anesthetized. You’ll be connected up to a heart lung machine that may take over for these organs so the doctor can perform the heart valve replacement using either a mechanical or tissue valve. To do this they are going to have to cut open your sternum to access your heart. Once the old valve is removed and the new one stitched in, theywill unhook you from deep inside lung machine and launch your own heart up again. Your breastbone will be wired back together and your incision will be stitched up.

When you wake up from your heart valve replacement surgery, you’ll be connected up to all sorts of tubes and wires, including one down your throat to helpyou breath, a catheter, an IV for medication, and tubes near your heart to reduce the liquids from this area that are left over from the surgery. Once you are awake and in a position to breathe on your own the tube down your throat will be removed, and the others will be removed as you get better. You should expect to spend a couple days in the ICU, and then more time in a cardiac surgical floor till you are recovered enough to come home. However, even if you come home youmay still not be back to your old self. This can take approximately six to eight weeks of gradual healing. You will continue to be on medication as well that you need to take, and youwill need to visit the doctor from time to time for monitoring of your condition.

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