Effective treatment of heart valve disease often requires a procedure to repair or replace your valve. The structural heart program at UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute offers many advanced solutions for heart valve disease.
The MitraClip is a small metal clip that helps the valve close so blood can flow properly. Surgeons do not need to perform open-heart surgery. Instead, they can place the clip using a catheter placed in a leg vein that they then guide to the heart.
During transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with aortic stenosis, surgeons insert a new aortic valve made of animal tissue and a man-made frame inside your aortic valve. TAVR can be performed through small incisions and is not an open-heart procedure. The procedure typically takes up to two hours and requires a two-night hospital stay.
In addition to valve repair and replacement, our experienced cardiologists and cardiac surgeons can perform other procedures, depending on your diagnosis, including:
- Clearing calcium buildup inside valves
- Performing surgery to insert a mechanical replacement valve
- Stent placement to improve blood flow
- Valvuloplasty, a procedure to repair a heart valve that has a narrow opening
