Question: Can a defective heart valve be repaired instead of totally replaced?
Dr. Hibberd’s answer:
Yes. A defective heart valve can be replaced or repaired by minimally invasive techniques using catheters and scopes. Unfortunately this is not available in all hospitals and tends to be offered mostly by larger academic teaching medical centers.
Open surgery is now becoming a procedure of last resort for many valve conditions. Surgery is accompanied by extended recovery and post-operative pain, while the newer scope procedures available now allow patients to be discharged from the hospital within several days with fewer complications.
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