The Details of Valve Replacement Surgery in Thailand

Surgery to replace or repair heart valves has advanced to the level that it’s now performed every day around the world. One of the hospitals most practiced in valve replacement surgery in Thailand is Vejthani Hospital in Bangkok.

Valve replacement surgery is required when the edges of the heart valves that control the blood flowing through the heart no longer seal tightly and leak or allow blood to flow to the wrong direction or when heart valve stenosis occur.

• 

With the expertise of the the surgeons at Vejthani Hospital, the surgery can be performed with high level of safety. This surgery is responsible for extending patients’ lifespans and giving them a better quality of life.

The three main types of valve replacement techniques are TAVI, MIS and open heart surgery. There is also a fourth option, which is valve repair surgery. It’s a viable alternative in certain cases where repair is a more favorable option because of the good condition of the existing valve, or where valve tightening is the problem. 

With advances in techniques, heart surgery has become a lot safer for the patient and more of a routine operation for surgeons. These surgeons can now choose between these three replacement procedural options, meaning they can tailor the procedure more closely to the patient’s condition, ensuring a more favorable outcome, making the patient more comfortable in their recovery, and able toreturn to their normal lifestyle in less time.

Open Surgery

This is the type of surgical technique seen most often in films. A large incision is made in the chest, and through the sternum, the ribs are drawn back by retractors, and the heart is exposed so the procedure can be performed.

Artificial valves that resemble discs are used to replace the patient’s natural valve. These valves are sutured onto the end of the ventricle where it enters the heart. The pumping action of the blood flowing through them controls the opening and closing of the new valves.

Open surgery still requires about a week’s stay in the hospital after the surgery and around eight to twelve weeks recovery time in total.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)

TAVI involves inserting a thin catheter into a blood vessel in your body, usually in your upper leg or chest. The catheter is then fed through to your aortic valve, where it’s used to guide and fix an artificial valve that replaces your natural one.

Undergoing TAVI has advantages. There’s no need to put the patient on a heart-lung bypass machine as the heart doesn’t need to be stopped. And the procedure does not result in a large incision in the chest, the tissue trauma that goes along with it, and a long recovery phase.

TAVI is the surgeon’s choice for patients who may be too frail to risk open heart surgery but  require valve replacement.

Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS)

Unlike open heart surgery, MIS is conducted by making several small incisions in the right side of the chest to reach the heart through the ribs. There are many benefits to MIS that are making it more popular with surgeons as well as their patients.

Because the incisions are smaller, MIS results in less blood loss than open surgery and therefore requires less replacement blood. A smaller incision also means less chance of infection and that there is reduced trauma to surrounding tissue and less pain when the patient is recovering. This translates to a shorter time recovering in the hospital, a faster recovery overall, and a much quicker resumption of the patient’s normal activities and lifestyle. It also means less noticeable scarring on the chest. 

Valve Repair Option

It’s always preferable to repair a patient’s existing heart tissue when possible

Contact Vejthani Hospital for Heart Valve Surgery

With three procedures available for heart valve replacement and heart valve repair, Vejthani Hospital in Bangkok is one of the top medical facilities for heart valve surgery. Contact Vejthani Hospital to book a session for a doctor’s consultation.