Aortic Valve Leakage After Surgery: What Should Patients Know?

When a patient receives the results of their post-operative aortic valve replacement echocardiogram and hears there is leakage (also known as regurgitation), there are often a lot of questions, not to mention anxiety! Was the surgery unsuccessful? Will I need a repeat operation to fix the leakage?

As many patients in the HeartValveSurgery.com community know, our founder, Adam Pick, had a Ross Procedure several years ago to replace a diseased bicuspid aortic valve. He, too, received the news after his post-operative echocardiogram that there was a small amount of blood leaking in his reconstructed aortic valve. To help others understand the implications of their post-op aortic valve regurgitation and what they should expect, he spoke with Dr. Laura DiChiacchio, a leading cardiac surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBQIyofX-60

Key Facts About Post-Operative Aortic Valve Regurgitation

Here are the key insights shared by Dr. DiChiacchio:

• While not unusual, post-operative regurgitation requires long-term surveillance. “This is a very common scenario, and oftentimes the surgery is performed perfectly, but hearing there is a little bit of leakage is very stressful,” said Dr. DiChiacchio. “Honestly, it’s probably stressful for both surgeons and patients who want everything to be perfect, but a small amount of leakage can be tolerated for a long time."

• According to Dr. Dichiacchio, post-op aortic valve leakage does not always require another intervention, and what’s important is that patients pay attention to their follow-up. "We keep a close eye on the aortic valve to make sure the leakage doesn’t progress. If it does, then we talk about options, but I think the most important thing is not to worry too much and be diligent about keeping an eye on it,” she stated.

• Adam’s own experience with post-op aortic valve regurgitation. Adam said, “I really appreciate what you said about ongoing surveillance with regular echocardiograms. What I would like to share and give some hope to all the folks out there is, for me, it’s been 20 years now since I heard I had a little bit of regurgitation in my aortic valve. I’ve needed no reoperation, no reintervention, and I’m doing great.”

Thanks Dr. DiChiacchio and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center!

On behalf of all the patients in our community, thank you, Dr. Laura DiChiacchio, for everything you and your team are doing at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California!

Related Links:

• See Dr. DiChiachhio's Interactive Surgeon Profile

• Hear About Christopher ‘Kid’ Reid’s Heart Transplant

Keep on tickin,
Adam

P.S. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of our patient community, we have provided a written transcript of our interview with Dr. DiChiaccio below.