Heart Valve Repair & Replacement
Heart valve surgery repairs or replaces a heart valve that has become narrowed (stenosis) or leaky (regurgitation), so blood again flows correctly through the heart. Where possible the valve is repaired and preserved; when it is too damaged, it is replaced with a mechanical or tissue valve. It relieves symptoms and protects the heart from long-term strain.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
The heart's four valves keep blood moving in one direction. When a valve narrows or leaks — most commonly the aortic or mitral valve — the heart must work harder, which over time can weaken the heart muscle and cause breathlessness, tiredness, chest discomfort or palpitations. Surgery corrects the problem before lasting damage develops.
Wherever it is feasible, surgeons aim to repair a valve rather than replace it, preserving the patient's own tissue. When replacement is needed, the choice between a mechanical valve (very durable but requiring lifelong blood-thinning medication) and a tissue valve (no long-term blood thinner, but less durable over decades) is made with the patient, taking age and lifestyle into account. Many valve operations can be performed through smaller, minimally invasive incisions, and some patients are suitable instead for catheter-based valve replacement such as TAVI.
International patients receive a coordinator, a clear treatment plan and a transparent, itemized cost estimate before travel, including the expected stay and recovery. Cardiologists can review your echocardiogram and reports remotely so the repair, replacement and catheter-based options are explained before you decide.
Who is a candidate?
- People with severe narrowing (stenosis) of a heart valve causing symptoms or heart strain
- Patients with significant valve leakage (regurgitation) affecting heart function
- Those whose valve disease causes breathlessness, tiredness, chest discomfort or fainting
- People with valve damage from infection, degeneration or a congenital valve problem
- Patients fit enough for valve surgery, as assessed by the heart team
- People seeking a second opinion comparing repair, replacement and catheter-based options
What happens
- 1
Assessment and planning
Echocardiography, and sometimes a cardiac CT or angiogram, defines which valve is affected and how severely. The heart team agrees with you whether repair, replacement or a catheter-based approach is best.
- 2
Preparation
Medications are reviewed and adjusted, and you are prepared for general anesthesia. If a replacement valve is likely, the team discusses the choice between a mechanical and a tissue valve with you.
- 3
The operation
Under general anesthesia, usually with the support of a heart-lung machine, the surgeon repairs the valve or removes and replaces it. Where suitable, this is done through a smaller, minimally invasive incision.
- 4
Intensive-care recovery
You recover first in a cardiac intensive-care unit, where heart rhythm, breathing and circulation are monitored closely, then move to a cardiac ward as you stabilize.
- 5
Rehabilitation and follow-up
Cardiac rehabilitation rebuilds strength, and you receive guidance on medication — including blood thinners if you have a mechanical valve. International patients get a follow-up plan and remote support after returning home.
Benefits
- Restores normal blood flow through the heart and relieves symptoms
- Protects the heart muscle from long-term strain and weakening
- Valve repair, where possible, preserves the patient's own tissue
- Minimally invasive approaches can mean smaller incisions and a faster recovery
- Catheter-based replacement (such as TAVI) is available for selected patients
Risks & considerations
- Bleeding, infection and reaction to anesthesia, as with any major surgery
- Heart-rhythm disturbances, which sometimes require a pacemaker
- Stroke or, with mechanical valves, clot-related risks requiring lifelong blood thinners
- The chance that a tissue valve will wear over years and eventually need replacing
- A recovery period of several weeks before returning to full activity
- Contact your medical team straight away if you develop a fever, redness or discharge from the wound, worsening breathlessness, chest pain or palpitations, or — if you take a blood thinner — unusual bruising or bleeding, as these can signal a complication needing prompt attention
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Heart Center.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Heart Valve Repair & Replacement — frequently asked questions
Repair preserves and reshapes your own valve, which surgeons prefer when it is feasible. Replacement removes the damaged valve and fits a new one — either a durable mechanical valve needing lifelong blood thinners, or a tissue valve that avoids long-term blood thinners but wears over decades.
Your team weighs your age, lifestyle and willingness to take lifelong blood-thinning medication. Mechanical valves last longer but require anticoagulation; tissue valves avoid that but may need replacing over time. The decision is made together with you.
Yes. Where it is clinically suitable, our surgeons use minimally invasive incisions, and selected patients are candidates for catheter-based replacement such as TAVI, which treats the valve without open surgery.
Yes. Send your echocardiogram and reports and our cardiologists and surgeons provide an independent opinion remotely, so repair, replacement and catheter-based options are explained before you travel.
Valve surgery typically means around five to eight nights in hospital plus follow-up before flying — your coordinator confirms the plan. After reviewing your case we provide a transparent estimate itemizing consultations, tests, the operation, the valve, hospital and intensive-care stay and follow-up. We don't publish fixed prices because each case differs.
Related treatments
Considering heart valve repair & replacement?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.