Valvular Surgery ▸

Patients with damaged or diseased heart valves can be treated in several ways. That’s why Methodist Heart and Lung Institute founded the South Texas Heart Valve Center a decade ago. The center’s goal is to evaluate patients with valvular heart disease and determine the best treatment option for them, whether that is a surgical heart valve repair or replacement, a minimally invasive surgery, or an endovascular structural heart procedure, such as a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Methodist Heart and Lung Institute performs more valve surgeries than anywhere else in San Antonio. It’s one of the only hospitals in the city with mitral valve cases large enough to be considered as a high-volume center. The institute’s valvular surgery team performs traditional open valve replacement surgery as well as minimally invasive surgical valve replacements. Both surgical options yield strong results, and the minimally invasive approach enables the surgery to be completed using a few small incisions rather than a larger one. Recovery time is about two to three times shorter for a minimally invasive procedure.

Some patients may be candidates for an endovascular valve procedure as well. The institute’s valve experts work closely with structural heart cardiologists to discuss each patient’s case and engage in a patientcentered decision-making process, developing the optimal treatment plan as a team. Having the full range of surgical capabilities for valvular disease available results in the best treatment.

Methodist Hospital is equipped with two hybrid ORs for valvular surgery, structural heart, aortic disease, and other procedures benefitting from high-definition fluoroscopy in addition to state-of-the-art OR equipment.

In partnership with colleagues in the structural heart program and other programs within the institute, the valvular surgery team maintains a robust level of participation in clinical research. This gives the institute’s patients access to the newest devices and valves on the market, before they become widely available. One current area of research focus at the institute is investigating transcatheter mitral valve systems, which is a major area of growth and innovation in valvular surgery.

James R. Garrison, md

Surgical Director, Structural Heart Program, Methodist Hospital

At Methodist Heart and Lung Institute, each patient benefits from cooperation and coordination between surgeons and cardiologists, who work together to evaluate the patient and determine what type of valve procedure is best.

The early detection of mitral valve disease – and early surgical repair of these valves – has the potential to prevent many serious heart problems from developing. Mitral valve disease is currently undertreated. But with minimally invasive techniques and the good repair options that we have now, we can stop leaky mitral valves from causing damage to the heart over time.

We encourage general cardiologists and primary care physicians in the community to refer patients with heart murmurs to the South Texas Heart Valve Center for evaluation. By seeing these patients early, we can help to prevent the heart from failing in the future as the valve problem gets worse.