Having heart surgery to repair your heart condition is a modern miracle. Heart surgery helps you get back to your life. But, as people who have had heart surgery live longer, new heart conditions might pop up. Or, the condition that you got surgery for starts creeping back. This could mean you need another heart surgery. That’s called a redo heart surgery (also called repeat heart surgery or reoperative heart surgery).
If you need a redo heart surgery, you can trust the providers at UVA Health. In fact, U.S. News & World Report has ranked our aortic valve and heart bypass surgery services as "high-performing," which means they're among the best in the country.
Types of Redo Heart Surgeries
At UVA, we offer these repeat heart surgeries:
- Redo heart valve repairs (aortic and mitral)
- Redo heart bypass surgery
- Redo aneurysm repairs
We can perform redo heart surgeries using these techniques:
- Percutaneous (done with a needle puncture of the skin)
- Minimally invasive (uses only small incisions in the chest)
- Traditional open sternotomy (open heart bypass surgery; your chest is opened to get to the heart)
Percutaneous Redo Heart Surgery for Aortic and Mitral Valves
Usually, treating the aortic and mitral valves is done with traditional open heart surgery or with minimally invasive surgery. But many patients aren’t good candidates for these procedures because of their:
- Age
- Health
- Past surgeries
If this is you, a percutaneous valve repair can help. Percutaneous valve repairs are done with a small cut in your leg or on the side of your chest. Also, we don’t stop your heart during the procedure.
We’re the only hospital in Virginia doing:
- Percutaneous aortic valve replacement
- Percutaneous mitral valve repair
And, we're one of the few hospitals in the country that offers both of these treatments.
Redo Aneurysm Repairs
Aneurysms usually get worse over time. If you’ve already had an aneurysm, you’re at risk for developing new ones, especially in other areas of the heart.
UVA Health's surgeons have experience repairing aneurysms in areas close to where there's already been an aneurysm repair.
Why Have a Redo Heart Surgery at UVA Health?
Smaller hospitals often refer their redo heart surgery patients to us. That’s because UVA Health has the expertise to treat patients with complex heart diseases, especially those who have already had heart surgery.
Redo heart surgeries are becoming more common. They can help you have:
- Longer life expectancy
- More energy and less fatigue
- Less chest pain