Your mitral valve consists of two small flaps of tissue in your heart. The flaps regulate blood flow from the upper to the lower chamber on the left side of your heart.
When the mitral valve is damaged, it can't regulate blood flow the way it should. This can lead to mitral regurgitation or mitral stenosis, each of which affects the heart in different ways.
Who may benefit from mitral valve repair or mitral valve replacement surgery?
Mitral valve repair surgery is a procedure that repairs the tissue flaps that make up your mitral valve.
Mitral valve repair is recommended when:
- Your mitral valve becomes seriously damaged
- The valve is leaky (regurgitant)
Mitral valve replacement is recommended when:
- Your mitral valve is too severely damaged to be repaired
- The valve is blocked (stenotic)
- The damage was caused by rheumatic fever
Our cardiac surgeons check your condition and determine whether surgery is the most suitable course of action. You may be able to manage the condition with medication and lifestyle changes.
For more information, please refer to the following articles in our patient education library:
Who may benefit from mitral valve repair surgery?
You may benefit from mitral valve repair surgery if:
- You're diagnosed with mitral valve disease
- Your mitral valve is severely leaky, but not calcified or damaged by rheumatic fever
In cases where symptoms are mild, nonsurgical management may be appropriate. But for a significant leaky valve, we may recommend surgery to prevent further complications.
Why choose Dartmouth Health's Heart and Vascular Center?
Surgical mitral valve repair is a common and highly effective procedure at the Heart and Vascular Center.
Our surgeons:
- Have extensive experience with all proven repair techniques
- Achieve high success rates consistently. Especially in cases where the valve is not affected by rheumatic disease
- Offer mitral valve robotic surgery
Mitral valve robotic surgery
We are proud to be the first hospital in New England, north of Boston, to offer robotic mitral valve surgery. This is a modern, low-risk way for surgeons to do surgery through small cuts, without having to cut through the breastbone or spread the ribs.
Patients may benefit from:
- Shorter hospital stays, typically reduced from 5-6 days to around 3 days
- Faster recovery, with many returning to full activity in about half the time compared to traditional surgery
- Reduced blood loss and lower risk of infection, contributing to a safer overall experience
Robotic assistance enhances surgical precision and efficiency, making procedures more effective for patients. This approach is expected to expand as technology and expertise continue to evolve.
Your mitral valve repair journey with the Heart and Vascular Center
- Personalized comprehensive evaluation
- Surgical and non-surgical options discussed
- Surgery in our state-of-the-art facilities (typically 4 to 6 hours)
- Overnight stay in our ICU, followed by a 4 to 6-day stay in the hospital (or 3 to 4-day stay after robotic mitral valve surgery)
- Kept comfortable first with IV pain medication and later with oral pain relievers like Tylenol or Motrin
- Going home with visiting nurse support or short-term rehabilitation
- Feeling significantly better after recovery and returning to normal activities, around 3 weeks
- Overall improved survival and life expectancy
Schedule a consultation
We are here to answer your questions and assist you in scheduling a consultation with one of our specialists. Call us today at 603-650-7390!