Re: mitral valve

Posted By CCF Cardio MD-SGM on January 22, 1998 at 09:34:03:

In Reply to: mitral valve posted by Terry on January 18, 1998 at 10:48:09:







: My 74 year old mother just had a new mitral valve put in 2 days ago. What is her
chance of this valve working.  She has high blood pressure but outside of
that in good health.  She made it throught the surgery and has the breathing
tube out and eating food today which is Sunday.  Her surgery was Friday.
Is the valve replacement usually a sucess?
Thank you.



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Dear Terry,
In addressing the prognosis following valve replacement surgery, several factors need to be taken into consideration including overall medical condition prior to surgery, function of the ventricle, and the type of valve (mechanical or bioprosthetic--"pig valve").  Briefly, the fact that your mother is off the breathing machine and eating two days after surgery is an excellent sign of recovery.  Serious complications during the surgical period range from 2-5%, and include things like stroke and heart failure.  A significant portion of patients undergoing mitral valve surgery experience irregular heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation, although this is usually not difficult to treat.  
Depending on the type of valve, serious complications in the years following valve replacement include degeneration of the valve(limited to tissue valves), blood clots arising from the valve (mechanical valves), and a risk of infection of the valve.  In the case of a tissue valve, your mother won't have to take blood thinning medications unless she also has atrial fibrillation, thus making her medical regimen less complicated.  
Overall, in the absence of serious non-cardiac medical conditions such as kidney failure and lung or liver disease, the immediate success of valve surgeries is well over 90%.  The odds of the structural failure of the valve ("valve not working") are very low, almost negligible.   Thus, statistically speaking, the odds are good that this surgery will be successful.  Best of luck.
Information provided in the Heart Forum is for general purposes only.  Specific diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician.