Acute or chronic heart diseases are a huge problem in India and the leading cause of death and disability in the country. While there are different medications to prevent further problems, surgery is suggested for long-term benefits. One such procedure is annuloplasty, which treats leakages in the heart valve, ensuring that the blood is pumped efficiently. Read on to learn more about the annuloplasty procedure, including costs, recovery time, side effects, etc. And if you are looking for a heart specialist in Nagercoil, visit Calwin Hospitals.
What Is An Annuloplasty Procedure?
Annuloplasty is recommended for patients with misshapen or damaged hearts, causing the heart to leak blood or Valve Regurgitation. An annuloplasty helps repair a misshapen or stretched heart by reshaping or reinforcing the ring surrounding the heart valve.
To the uninitiated, the heart valves are like gates: they open and close allowing blood to flow in the right direction. This happens several thousand times every day. When the ring around these valves becomes damaged or misshapen, the shape change prevents the valves from opening and closing correctly. This causes blood to flow backwards. A leaky heart causes the heart to pump less effectively. Patients with valve regurgitation may experience weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc. Without treatment, this could lead to blood clots, heart attack, and even cardiac arrest.
An annuloplasty procedure involves implanting an annuloplasty ring to support the valve. The ring, made up of metal, mesh, or plastic reinforces the valve, thereby preventing the risk of blood flowing backwards.
Annuloplasty can be done as an open heart procedure, or a minimally invasive procedure, depending on the patient’s condition and severity of the problem. Sometimes, the doctor may recommend a transcatheter procedure when a thin catheter is guided through the femoral artery to perform the surgery.
Open Heart Surgery: During an open heart annuloplasty, the doctor makes an incision near the chest to locate the heart valve ring and sew the annuloplasty ring around the heart valve. They will stitch the incision to close it or use surgical glue.
Minimally Invasive Surgery: During minimally invasive annuloplasty, the doctor makes several small incisions to insert flexible tubes with a camera or tools. These tools are then guided to sew the annuloplasty ring around the heart valve. The tools and camera are then retracted and the incisions closed.
Over time, heart muscles grow around the implanted ring, ensuring that it acts as any other part of the body.
Depending on the type of valve that is damaged, there are four types of annuloplasty. They are:
- Mitral valve annuloplasty
- Aortic valve annuloplasty
- Pulmonary valve annuloplasty
- Tricuspid valve annuloplasty
Sometimes, more than one valve may need repair. Also, doctors may perform other procedures like aneurysm repair simultaneously.
Annuloplasty Recovery
Immediately after annuloplasty, you will spend several hours in intensive care for close monitoring.
Annuloplasty is an intensive procedure, irrespective of whether it is an open heart or minimally invasive surgery. While the latter has minimal complications, patients can return home in 3 to 5 days. Patients with open heart surgery need to stay up to 7 or more days to ensure there are no complications during recovery.
As part of post-recovery instructions, the doctor will ask you to restrict physical activities and other strenuous work. You will also be asked to come for follow-up appointments. During these appointments, the doctor will check if these incisions are healing and if the new annuloplasty ring works perfectly through an ECG.
Is Annuloplasty Effective?
Annuloplasty is effective with most patients needing only one ring in their lifetime. In fact, annuloplasty is a default procedure in almost all cases of mitral valve regurgitation and tricuspid valve regurgitation. Patients with tricuspid valve annuloplasty have a 94% survival chance 1 year after the surgery. Similarly, patients with mitral valve annuloplasty have up to 96% of chances 1 year after surgery.
Annuloplasty Procedure Risks And Complications
Some patients may experience complications like blood clots, bleeding, stroke, infection, and irregular heartbeat. If you experience shortness of breath, chest pain, or weakness, visit the heart specialist in Nagercoil immediately.
Annuloplasty Cost
The cost of annuloplasty in India ranges from INR 2 lakhs to INR 5 lakhs, depending on the risk involved, and other procedures being performed concurrently. If you are looking for a heart hospital in Nagercoil offering affordable cardiac healthcare, visit Calwin Hospitals.
We are a team of specialised heart specialists in Nagercoil offering advanced cardiac care using state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment procedures.