During heart valve surgery, cardiac surgeons repair or replace valves that have been damaged. Inova Heart and Vascular Institute offers the most advanced surgical techniques available to repair and replace all heart valves: aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary.  

Recent innovations have increased the options for valve repair and replacement, so we can offer highly individualized treatment targeted to your specific condition. Many of these new techniques also promote greater comfort and faster recovery times. A few types of valve surgeries are:

Aortic valve replacement, the most effective treatment for severe aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation. Inova Heart and Vascular Institute offers the most advanced aortic valve replacement options available. Aortic valve replacement surgery is the latest heart operation to be performed as a minimally invasive procedure. Surgeons at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute were among the first in the country to offer the surgery, with numerous benefits for patients. Options include:

• Biological (tissue) valves are usually made from pig or cow tissue. They are easy to insert and generally last 15 to 20 years. Patients who receive tissue valves do not need to take a blood thinning medication, such as Coumadin, for the rest of their lives.
• Stentless valves—the newest type of tissue valve — have no supporting stents or titanium. They feature all the benefits of stented tissue valves, but with a wider opening for enhanced blood flow. At Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, most of the tissue valves used are stentless.
• Mechanical valves are made of titanium, easy to insert and durable, generally lasting more than 20 years. Patients who receive mechanical valves must take a blood thinning medication for the rest of their lives to prevent blood clots.
• A homograft is a valve removed from a donated human heart. It is best for patients with endocarditis, an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart.
• The Ross Procedure replaces a patient’s diseased aortic valve with his or her pulmonary valve, which is then replaced with a pulmonary homograft. It is usually performed on younger patients who want to avoid blood thinning medication.

Aortic valve repair may be an option for patients with conditions such as tears or holes in the valve, enlarged aorta (the heart’s main artery) or bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital deformity in which the valve has two cusps (or flaps) rather than the normal three.

Mitral valve repair, the optimal treatment for patients with mitral stenosis or mitral regurgitation (read more about mitral valve disease). Mitral valves can be repaired in a variety of ways. Your heart structure, diagnostic results, age and medical condition all play an important role in the type of valve surgery your surgeon recommends.

Mitral valve replacement - performed less frequently, usually in cases where the valve cannot be repaired. Options include:

• biological (tissue) valves, usually made from pig or cow tissue. They are easy to insert and generally last 15 to 20 years. Patients who receive tissue valves do not need to take a blood thinning medication, such as Coumadin, for the rest of their lives.
• Mechanical valves. Mechanical valves are made of titanium, easy to insert and durable, generally lasting more than 20 years. Patients who receive mechanical valves must take a blood thinning medication for the rest of their lives to prevent blood clots.

Inova Heart and Vascular Institute experience

Inova Heart and Vascular Institute is a leader in developing and standardizing minimally invasive repair techniques and our repair rate is higher than the national average. We are nationally known for implementing the da Vinci® surgical system for minimally invasive mitral valve repair in the 1990s. Now, both robotic and non-robotic techniques are available.

Learn more about the exceptional expertise of the physicians who conduct valve surgery at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute

Read testimonials from our valve surgery patients 

Top of page