Valvular Heart Disease
Valve Replacement & Repair
For children diagnosed with valvular heart disease, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital has expertise and advanced training in valve replacement and repair procedures.
What Is Valvular Heart Disease?
Valvular heart disease is a condition diagnosed when one of the four valves in the heart is damaged or diseased. They include the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, aortic valve, and pulmonary valve. Each valve has flaps, or leaflets, that open and close to allow blood flow. When a valve is damaged or diseased, blood flows incorrectly. It can be caused by several factors:
- Missing flap — A child may be born with a missing leaflet on one of the valves.
- Regurgitation— This occurs when a valve leaks or does not close all the way, causing blood to flow backwards and slowing overall blood flow to the body.
- Stenosis — A condition that results in a stiff or narrowed valve that won’t open fully to allow blood to be pushed through.
In children, these heart valve diseases may be congenital — present at birth — or they can be caused by an infection. They may be discovered during a newborn screening or diagnosed months after birth as a child shows signs of the disease.
What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Valvular Heart Disease in Children?
- Difficulty in breathing
- Feeding difficulty in infancy (not eating well)
- Heart murmur
- Blue skin tone
- Rapid pulse and pale skin at birth
- Chest pain
- Chronic fatigue
Minimally Invasive Treatment Options for Valve Repair & Replacement
Our cardiothoracic specialists have expertise in offering alternatives to open heart surgery. We provide minimally invasive valve repair and replacement procedures using the latest devices, including the Melody, Sapien, and Harmony artificial valves.
With minimally invasive heart procedures, most patients can go home from the hospital the day following their procedure. Other benefits include less pain and faster recoveries. Our heart specialists have excellent outcomes for both valve replacement and repair.
An Added Benefit: 3D Modeling of Heart Defects
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon has its own 3D Printing Center of Excellence to create detailed models of structural heart defects for use in presurgical planning for complex valve replacement and other procedures.