Mitral Valve Replacement

The mitral valve controls blood flow between the left atrium and left ventricle. When it leaks (regurgitation), narrows (stenosis) or prolapses beyond what the heart can compensate for, surgery exchanges it for a mechanical or biological valve. Rheumatic fever, infection, coronary disease and simple wear are the usual causes.

Repair before replacement

Where the valve's own tissue allows it, surgeons prefer to repair rather than replace: repair preserves your valve, avoids lifelong blood thinners, and carries lower risks of stroke and infection. Ask explicitly whether your valve is repairable — it is the first question that should be answered from your echocardiogram, and we make sure it is asked.

What the operation involves

Open replacement takes two to four hours under general anaesthetic with the heart-lung machine running. A mechanical valve is built for a lifetime but needs daily anticoagulation with regular blood tests; a biological valve avoids the tablets but typically lasts ten to fifteen years. For selected patients, catheter-based (transcatheter) options exist and are assessed case by case.

Recovery and what to expect

Expect seven to ten days in hospital, the first of them in intensive care. Normal activity returns over four to six weeks; strenuous exercise and heavy lifting wait about three months while the breastbone heals. Redness or discharge at the wound, fever, or worsening breathlessness after discharge are signals to contact the team at once — from anywhere, at any hour.

What we arrange around it

We plan the stay around the surgical review, arrange accommodation within reach of the hospital, and — if you go home on anticoagulation — make sure the monitoring plan is written down and workable in your own country before you leave.