Everything You Need To Know About Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery

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Dr Bipeenchandra Bhamre, Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai

Did you know? Aortic valve replacement surgery is a type of open-heart surgery to help tackle problems related to the heart’s aortic valve.During this surgery, one’s damaged valve is replaced with a new valve.  

 

The aortic helps control the blood flow out from one’s heart to supply oxygenated blood the rest of the body. Thus, it is the responsibility of the valves to maintain one-way blood flow via the heart. Are you aware? 4 valves are present in the heart including the mitral, tricuspid, aortic, and pulmonic valves. Moreover, the aortic valve is situated between one’s left ventricle (heart pumping chamber) and the aorta (the largest artery in the body).

 

Several reasons for affecting aortic valve viz Rheumatic  heart disease, degenerative due to age , bicuspid valve, bacterial endocarditis infection of the valve etc.

 

 

Problems that occur with aortic valve

• One will have to replace the aortic valve mainly for 2 reasons. The first is that the valve may get narrowed (aortic stenosis).  Here the opening of one’s valve is smaller and that tends to hamper the blood flow out of the heart. 

• The second reason can be due to a leaky valve that is aortic regurgitation. In this situation, one’s valve allows blood to flow back through the heart. You will be shocked to know that these problems can worsen one’s condition leading to heart failure if you fail to deal with it one time.

When to opt for aortic valve replacement?

 

 Those with aortic valve disease will exhibit symptoms such as fainting, breathing problems, chest pain, and dizziness. You will undergo evaluation by echocardiography to determine the severity of the valve disease. If the valve stenosis shows severe narrowing or valve regurgitation shows severe aortic regurgitation your doctor will recommend to get the valve replaced. 

Replacing the valve will be one of the options if one wishes to minimize the risk to life.

 

Preparation for the procedure: You must clear all the doubts regarding the procedure with the doctor. However, if you are scheduled to undergo this procedure then you will be examined by the doctor. The doctor will take your history into consideration, will check for allergies or ailments, and the medication you are taking. You will have to give up on smoking and alcohol before undergoing the procedure.

 

Normally you will be undergoing few more tests to understand the condition of your other organs prior heart surgery. Once all tests done we admit patient one day prior to surgery.

 

Know about Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery

 

The valve replacement will be done under general anesthesia. Takes about 4 hours time. The incision will be made in the chest in order to access your heart. The cut can also be smaller in minimal access surgeries through right side of chest. A heart-lung bypass machine is used in order to carry the job of the heart and lung. Heart is stoped and  the damaged or the faulty valve is removed and replaced with the new one. 

 

There are two types of heart valve available, one is mechanical valve (metalic valve) second is tissue valve (bovine pericardium) if you are younger than 65 years metalic valve is the choice and for older patient more than 65 years tissue valve is recommended. Your doctor will discuss the type of valve that is suitable for you. You can opt for the suitable valve depending on your own preferences.  We see some young patients opt for tissue valve. Tissue valve advantage is you don't have to take any medications disadvantage is it has lifespan of 10 to 12 years. Mechanical valve lasts for your life but you have to take blood thinner medication to keep it working. 

 

The recovery process: Your hospital stay will be about a week. 3 days in ICU and 4 days in room.  For one month after valve replacement you should be confined to your home. You will have to take it easy and just rest for 6 weeks. Most of the people  resume normal life after 6 to 8 weeks.  Your recovery will depend on the factors such as age and your overall health.  Report any side-effects like constipation, swelling or redness around the wound, poor appetite, and pain on an immediate basis while recovering from your heart valve surgery.

 

With modern technology available the risks of replacement of valve is minimal. If your doctor has recommended valve replacement surgery then it can be done in very safe way with return to normal life activities in 6 to 8 weeks time.

COVID Situation like a game of ‘Snakes & Ladders

Vinod Kumar, Health Reporter

New Delhi.  COVID situation, in the face of new variants, is similar to the globally known ‘snakes and ladders game’; it can either bring us down or take us a step ahead, depending on how we tackle the situation. 

The key here is to be prepared, said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health, Singapore. He was speaking at an interaction at the Partnership Summit 2021 organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry,

The Minister emphasised that while public health is of great importance for all Governments, economies like Singapore depend largely on interaction and connections with the rest of the world. The seaport and the airport are like the lungs of the economy and therefore, the Singapore Government will strive to keep the borders open for business and movement as it learns to live with COVID-19 as an endemic disease.

The ASEAN region has a thriving middle class with consumer power and lucrative Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which make it an attractive investment destination. With the changing geopolitical situation, especially between US and China, ASEAN, Singapore, and India will greatly benefit from stable and constructive relations between the big powers. 

The Minister added that the issue of vaccination is similar to other global concerns like climate change, where the international community is building global commons.  Hence, there needs to be greater collaborations and action, facilitated by multilateral organisations like the World Health Organization. 

Under-vaccinated countries or under-provided countries need to be assisted in stepping up their needs. Also, the Health Minister emphasised that ultimatwely, we hope for a changed outlook towards COVID-19 infections similar to influenza affecting the world, which takes critical shape only amidst the unvaccinated, the elderly population or with those with comorbidity. Skills training and collaborating with India’s IT and healthcare sector is the way forward to further strengthen the India-Singapore relationship on healthcare related matters, added the Minister.

Dr Naushad Forbes, Past President, CII & Co-Chair, Forbes Marshall, mentioned that amidst such uncertain times, issues like keeping travel options open is necessary for building the broader relationships that the world thrives on. Studies reveal that around 90% of the population in India have the antibodies and the situation is somewhat endemic.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee said that Singapore has been a key part of the Partnership Summit over the years since its inception in 1995. The Partnership Summit 2021 is hosting over 50 sessions, with 200+ speakers, 20 Overseas Ministers, a large number of global CXO speakers from 40 countries and delegates from over 100 countries.

 

The sole purpose of any technological advancement or development is the upliftment and betterment of lives: Dr Jitendra Singh

Vinod Kumar, Reporter

New Delhi. “Increased budget allocations and several new technology and innovation initiatives particularly during the Covid time define the success story of New India,” stated Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Science & Technology, Minister of State(Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and in the Department of Space, Government of India while speaking at the session on ‘Preparedness of Scientific Community in New Normal: Role of S20’ at the CII Partnership Summit 2021, organised in association with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The Minister further mentioned that the sole purpose of any technological advancement or development is the upliftment and betterment of lives and bringing ease of living in the life of the common man. With new emerging technologies like AI, nanotech and genetic engineering, the world is witnessing a huge transformation and is ready to catapult in terms of technology development.

He stated that the partnership of the S20 scientific community group is vital as the world is struggling to develop vaccines and scale up manufacturing during the pandemic period. He added that as India assumes the presidency of G20 in 2023, it will be our endeavour to strengthen and develop this partnership among leading nations of scientific communities. He also highlighted the role of sustainable startups and their linkage for hitherto unexplored areas such as horticulture, agriculture and milk industry.

Prof Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, Chair, S20 Indonesia 2022 & President, Indonesian Academy of Science emphasized the time for equity when global collaborations will catalyze the fair redistribution of wealth and security. He mentioned that a resilient health system, a sustainable low carbon health system, multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary S&T, people centric collaboration, and strengthening the nexus between data-research-policy-practice are the five priority areas for S20 to work together for stronger recovery and growth.

Dr Takaaki Kajita, President, Science Council of Japan, outlined that the scientific community in the ‘new normal’ ought to tackle global issues while further promoting international cooperation in order to bring together the wisdom of the world. He further stated that it is important to collaborate with all academic disciplines that transcend the distinction between humanities and sciences and alleviate public anxiety by disseminating science‐based knowledge about matters not well‐known or understood.

Mr Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, CII National Committee on Technology, R&D and Innovation & Managing Director & CEO, Ashok Leyland Limited, India emphasized that scientists across several nations have largely collaborated on the principle of open science and crucial role of S20 in orchestrating consensus-based recommendations. He further emphasized that the technologies such as AI, machine learning, augmented reality, genomics, and nanotechnology will be critical in driving and inspiring the innovations of tomorrow.