Saint Vincent :: We know how to treat people.

Saint Vincent cardiac surgeons correct heart valve problems with quality of life after surgery in mind. That’s why their focus is on repairing rather than replacing a patient’s heart valve. Valve repair eliminates the need for very expensive blood-thinners and reduces the risk of infection. When repairing the heart valve is not a viable option, a patient may need to have their valve replaced. When replacement is necessary, homografts (donor valves), mechanical and other types of valves are used. The Saint Vincent Heart Center is one of only 10 sites in the country using “tissue” valves.

Mitral valve surgery repair and replacement
data excluding mitralvalve stenosis.

More Mitral Valves are Repaired at Saint Vincent

Why do Saint Vincent surgeons prefer to repair patients’ valves versus replacing them? Because of the significant patient benefits. Nationally only 64% of mitral valves are repaired. At Saint Vincent, our highly skilled and experienced cardiac surgeons are able to repair 82%.

Focus on Quality: Higher Volumes Mean
Better Outcomes

The surgeons at Saint Vincent perform twice as many heart procedures as other surgeons in the region, making a successful recovery significantly more likely. According to the most recent PHC4 report, patients treated by surgeons who performed 200-250 open heart surgeries per year were twice as likely to survive after bypass surgery as patients of surgeons who do fewer than 100 procedures per year.

To read the latest PHC4 report, please visit (pdf)