Pulmonary Valve Surgery

Expert Surgical Care for Pulmonary Valve Disease

Pulmonic valve surgery repairs or replaces a damaged pulmonary valve to improve blood flow and quality of life for people with pulmonic valve disease.

The pulmonic valve is one of four valves that control blood flow within the heart. This valve is between the right ventricle — or the lower right chamber — and the pulmonary artery, which delivers blood to the lungs. The causes of pulmonic valve disease include infection, pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart defects and rheumatic fever. Sometimes the cause is unknown.

Who needs pulmonic valve surgery?

People with the following conditions may require surgical intervention, mainly if medications used to treat the underlying cause are ineffective:

• Pulmonary valve regurgitation happens when the pulmonic valve leaks because the valve does not close completely between heartbeats and allows some blood to flow backward into the right ventricle of the heart rather than into the lungs. This backward blood flow causes the right ventricle to work harder and sometimes leads to right-sided heart failure.
• Pulmonary valve stenosis occurs when the leaflets or valve flaps become thick and stiff, preventing it from opening fully. As a result, the heart must work harder to pump blood to the lungs.

Types of pulmonic valve surgery

Wellstar offers surgical treatment options for people with pulmonic valve disease.

Open heart

During traditional open heart pulmonic surgery, your surgeon will decide if the valve can be repaired or if replacement is a better option. This surgery is performed through an incision in the chest bone or sternum. Pulmonic valve repair may involve sewing a ring around the valve to tighten it, separating or loosening tight or fused valve leaflets or trimming or patching the valve leaflets. If a pulmonic valve replacement is needed, the cardiac surgeon will remove the diseased valve and replace it with a new mechanical or biological valve.

Minimally invasive

For some patients with pulmonary stenosis or regurgitation, transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement (TPVR) offers an alternative to open heart surgery.

Cardiac rehabilitation after surgery

To assist in regaining your strength after surgery, your cardiac surgeon will recommend Cardiac Rehab at one of Wellstar’s many outpatient locations. The Cardiac Rehab team will work with you to develop an exercise regimen, monitor you during your exercise sessions and provide support and education to help you live a healthier life.


Learn about the highly skilled surgical care you'll receive through Wellstar's cardiovascular surgery program.