Valve repair

Whenever possible, repairing the patient's own heart valve rather than replacing it is often the best option. Valve repair, also called valvuloplasty, consists of restoring the valve's normal function while preserving the patient's natural tissue. This conservative surgery is mainly aimed at the mitral valve, whose leaks can frequently be corrected by repair techniques: reshaping the leaflets, implanting a support ring, adjusting the chordae. The tricuspid valve can also benefit from these techniques. The advantages of repair are significant: preservation of the natural valve, no lifelong anticoagulant treatment in most cases, better preservation of heart function and excellent durability of the result when the repair is performed by an experienced team. At Clinique Pasteur Tunis, every valve case is studied in detail in order to favour repair whenever it is feasible. The result is systematically checked by echocardiography during the procedure, guaranteeing the quality of the repair before the end of the operation.