“Where Does The Mitral Valve Replacement Go?” Asks Diane

I just received a great question from Diane about heart valve replacements.

Diane writes, “Adam – Yesterday, I was diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation. My cardiologist said I should start planning on having my heart valve replaced soon. I’m confused by all of this. One thing I can’t figure out is where will the new valve goes? Do you have any pictures that could help me visualize this? Diane”

To see how a heart valve replacement device is positioned in the mitral location, please review the picture above. As you can see, a mitral valve replacement – which is typically a tissue valve or a mechanical valve – is inserted where the defective valve previously resided in the heart.

Once the surgeon identifies the right size of the mitral valve replacement, many sutures are used to stitch the new valve in place before the heart is restarted. (If you didn’t know, this surgical process occurs while the heart is stopped and the patient is on the heart-lung machine.)

I hope that helps Diane (and perhaps you) better understand how and where a heart valve replacement device is positioned for a defective mitral valve.

Keep on tickin!