Heart valve replacement surgeries are used to treat patients with torn, obstructed or leaking valves that cannot be patched or repaired. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, research shows that more than one-third of those undergoing heart valve replacement develop complications, and older patients and those receiving a bioprosthetic valve made from preserved human or animal tissue are particularly likely to experience these complications.
Bleeding
According to research supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and published in the June 2007 issue of the “Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery,” approximately one-fourth of complications after heart valve surgery are related to post-surgical bleeding. Specifically, these complications include hemorrhage--sudden, rapid blood loss that can become uncontrollable--and hematoma--an abnormal pooling of blood that collects from a leaking blood vessel. Patients may also develop a seroma--a tumor-like mass or pocket filled with blood serum that can develop after plasma leaks from ruptured blood vessels.
Infection
Patients who undergo aortic or mitral valve replacement surgery are at risk of developing infections after surgery. According to eMedTV, while some individuals may develop mild, highly treatable skin infections around the incision site, others can develop serious, potentially fatal infections that cannot be easily controlled with antibiotics. For example, one of the most serious complications is an infection of the breastbone, which can necessitate removal of the breastbone in an attempt to prevent the infection from spreading throughout the body and causing loss of life.
Heart and Lung Complications
According to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-sponsored study published in the “Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery”, close to 50 percent of complications from heart valve replacements are cardiac-related. These complications can include heart attack and the development of an arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat. Both of these complications can be fatal.
According to eMedTV, heart valve replacement patients may also develop lung complications, including fluid buildup, pneumonia and lung failure.
Valve Failure
According to eMedTV, approximately 1 percent of patients undergoing aortic or mitral valve replacement will experience valve failure after surgery. Valve failure can occur because the bioprosthetic tissue weakens and cannot withstand the pressure and force of the blood, or because a clot forms on the valve and obstructs bloodflow or prevents the valve from closing completely. Patients who undergo a Ross procedure--a specialized surgery in which doctors replace the patient’s diseased aortic valve with his own pulmonary valve, followed by replacement of the pulmonary valve with a preserved, donated valve from a human cadaver--are at risk of developing a leak in the pulmonary replacement valve. According to ClevelandClinic.com, up to 10 percent of patients will require revision surgery within 10 years of the initial valve replacement to fix this leak.
Kidney Complications
Up to 20 percent of patients who have had a heart valve replacement may develop mild or temporary declines in kidney function, according to eMedTV. Usually these complications cause no permanent damage and the kidneys resume normal function within a week or two after surgery. However, up to 7 percent of patients may develop worsening symptoms that become chronic and require treatment with dialysis.
