Heart Disease Health Center

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Mitral valve repair may be done in one of two ways:

• Balloon valvotomy. A thin flexible tube (catheter) is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm and threaded into the heart. When the tube reaches the narrowed mitral valve, a balloon located on the tip of the catheter is quickly inflated. The balloon, pressing against the narrowed mitral valve leaflets, separates and stretches the valve opening and allows more blood to flow through the heart. This procedure does not require open-heart surgery, so recovery is easier.
• Open commissurotomy. This method of repair requires open-heart surgery. A surgeon removes calcium deposits and other scar tissue from the mitral valve leaflets, which opens the valve. This procedure is used for people who have severe narrowing of the valve and are not good candidates for balloon valvotomy.

Mitral valve replacement surgery is also an open-heart procedure. The damaged heart valve is removed and replaced with a new valve. It is generally the last choice in mitral valve stenosis treatment, because an artificial mitral valve cannot work as well as a normal mitral valve.

Your doctor will likely recommend valve replacement if the valve has deteriorated to the point that repair is not an option or if the anatomy of the valve has been changed by one or more repair procedures and can no longer be repaired.

See a picture of mitral valve replacement surgery .

Before you have valve replacement surgery, you and your doctor will decide on which type of valve is right for you. To help with this decision, see:

Heart Valve Problems: Should I Choose a Mechanical Valve or Tissue Valve to Replace My Heart Valve?