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February 25, 2022

Mitral Valve Repair in Paducah, KY

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♪ [music] ♪

- [Dr. Ward] The mitral valve is a one-way valve.

Its purpose is to keep oxygenated blood that flows
from the lungs and fills up the main pumping

chamber of the heart.

There's two things that can
happen to the mitral valve.

It can be too tight, called mitral stenosis, or it
can be leaky, that's called mitral regurgitation

or mitral prolapse.

In that case, the blood, instead of
going forward to the rest of the body,

leaks back through the mitral valve.

It can make fluid build up on the lungs.

- [Garett] I had gradually started getting less energy
and out of breath quicker, and it was getting

worse and worse.

And I told my wife there
had to be something wrong.

I went to my local doctor's office and
then she referred me to see Dr. Ward.

And Dr. Ward explained to me exactly
what was happening with my mitral valve.

- There's many treatment options for mitral
regurgitation or mitral valve prolapse.

More recently, we've advanced techniques to be
able to fix the valve, let a patient keep their native

vascular tissue without the leak.

And we found that this has better long-term
outcomes with their mitral valve fixed with their

own tissue than replacing it.

- He explained to me what was
going to happen during the surgery.

He said he would do everything he could
just to fix the valve, and that's what he did.

He fixed the valve.

It's very important to me that I started
3 miles down the road from my house with a

Baptist Health facility, and then ended
with a Baptist Health surgeon fixing it.

If I had traveled to another hospital, I don't
believe I would have got near the service that

I've gotten here.

♪ [music] ♪
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Baptist Health Paducah: Mitral Valve Repair

Mitral valve repair surgery uses a patient’s own tissue to fix the mitral valve. Learn about the treatment options close to home at Baptist Health.

Mitral Valve Repair in Paducah, KY HealthTalks Transcript

Austin Ward, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery:
The mitral valve is a one-way valve. Its purpose is to keep oxygenated blood that flows from the lungs and fills up the main pumping chamber of the heart. There are two things that can happen to the mitral valve. It can be too tight, called mitral stenosis. Or, it can be leaky — that’s called mitral regurgitation or mitral prolapse. In that case, the blood, instead of going forward to the rest of the body, leaks back through the mitral valve. It can make the fluid build up on the lungs.

Garett Travis, patient:
I had gradually started getting less energy and out of breath quicker. It was getting worse and worse. I told my wife there had to be something wrong. I went to my local doctor’s office, and she referred me to see Dr. Ward. Dr. Ward explained to me exactly what was happening with my mitral valve.

Dr. Ward:
There are many treatment options for mitral regurgitation or mitral valve prolapse. More recently, we’ve advanced techniques to be able to fix the valve and let a patient keep their native valvular tissue without the leak. We’ve found this has better long-term outcomes — with the mitral valve fixed with their own tissue — than replacing it. 

Travis:
He explained to me what was going to happen during the surgery. He said he would do everything he could just to fix the valve, and that’s what he did. He fixed the valve. It’s very important to me that I started three miles down the road from my house, with a Baptist Health facility, and then ended with a Baptist Health surgeon fixing it. If I had traveled to another hospital, I don’t believe I would have gotten near the service that I’ve gotten here.

Next Steps and Useful Resources

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