Aortic surgeries

Aortic valve repair and valve replacement may be done through a traditional open-heart surgery which involves a cut (incision) in the chest or by using minimally invasive methods. The procedure involves removing the damaged section of the aorta and replaces it with a rigid synthetic graft (tube).

Aortic surgery treats issues with the body’s largest artery; the surgery can repair a stretched aorta that is in danger of breaking and the options to treat this condition range from the minimally invasive to open-heart surgery. It could, on occasion, need emergency surgery.

The aorta goes from the heart to the belly. There is a high volume of blood flowing through the aorta so its walls can get weak and stretched out. This is an aneursym. High blood pressure can push layers of the aorta wall apart, causing an aortic dissection. Both these can cause complications to your aorta’s ability to send blood with oxygen to the body’s cells and tissues. Sometimes the damage may be life-threatening.

Surgery on an aneursym may be recommended if it is growing at the rate of half-an-inch annually. Often surgeons perform surgery when the aneursym is two- or two-and-a-half inches since dissections and ruptures are more likely at about 2.4 inches.

Aortic surgery is needed before the aorta wall is in danger of breaking. Conditions that can lead to aortic aneursyms and aortic dissection are:
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Genetic conditions
Connective tissue disorder
Injury