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"Will I Be Glued Or Stapled After Heart Valve Surgery?" Asks Jill

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page Last Updated: May 12, 2025

I just received a great email from Jill. She writes, "Hi Adam - After several years of waiting and waiting, I'm finally going in for valve replacement due to severe regurgitation. Quick Question: Will I be glued or stapled after the sternum is wired? I've heard it can go either way. Any thoughts?"

Jill's question just brought back a very interesting memory for me... I was in the intensive care unit after my aortic valve replacement surgery. The obstructive vent tube had just been removed from my throat. I was woozy (from the anesthesia) but conscious. My eyes sluggishly opened for the first time in six hours. I remember seeing my dad and my wife. Then, I looked down at my chest and thought, "Huh? Is something wrong? I don't see any stitches on my scar."

Shortly thereafter, I learned that my surgeon used a special type of glue to seal the incision after my median sternotomy. As you can see below, there are no stitches or staples on my main, 8-inch incision.

My Glued Incision - Shortly After Surgery

However, you should know, this is not always the case. Many surgeons still use staples.

In fact, I just received an email from Emmanuel Ibanez. Emmanuel just had valve surgery in the United Arab Emirates. As shown, Emmanuel's surgeon chose to use the staple method.

Stapled incision after open heart surgery

A Stapled Incision

Whether your incision is stapled or glued, I continue to recommend the use of Mederma. Myself and many of my readers have had positive results from this skin care gel.

Finally, you should also know that most patients have additional scars from the smaller chest tubes used during / after surgery. Most of the time, those smaller incisions are stitched. I hope that helps further explain the different approaches to closing surgical incisions - glue, staples, stitches - for open heart surgery.

It should also be noted that many of the newer transcatheter valve therapies - including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) - do not require an incision to the patient's chest or ribs as the procedure is typically performed using minimally-invasive techniques through an artery. That said, patients undergoing TAVR will not be stitched or glued.

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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