Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) offers qualifying heart patients a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (a surgical procedure designed to replace a poorly working aortic valve with an artificial one). PMC is one of only a few hospitals in Kentucky that offers a minimally invasive approach to heart bypass and heart valve surgery.
The aortic valve is one of the heart’s four valves. The valves help blood flow through the heart’s four chambers and out to your body normally.
In the heart, the aortic valve helps keep blood flowing in the correct direction through the heart. It separates the heart’s main pumping chamber (left ventricle) and the aorta, the great artery, which carries the blood from the heart to all parts of the body except the lungs that supply oxygen-rich blood.
This advanced procedure can treat aortic valve disease and help restore normal blood flow, reduce symptoms, prolong life, and help preserve the function of the heart muscle.
“This surgical technique involves smaller incisions than conventional heart surgery and can result in a shorter recovery period, fewer complications and less pain after surgery,” said PMC Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dermot Halpin, MD.
