At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), children with congenital and acquired valve disease receive cutting-edge, individualized care from world leaders in interventional cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery. These videos explain some of the valve repair and replacement procedures we commonly perform in the Cardiac Center at CHOP.

Aortic valve repair or replacement
Depending on your child’s age, needs and valve structure, your surgeon may try to repair a damaged or diseased valve using a surgical procedure called a valvuloplasty.

Mechanical valve repair
A disease or damaged valve can also be surgically removed and replaced with a tissue (made from biological material) valve or a mechanical (artificial) valve. In cases where a mechanical valve is used, your child will need to take a blood thinner for the rest of their life to prevent clots from forming on the valve.

Ross procedure for aortic valve repair
In this operation, the aortic valve is replaced with the patient's own pulmonary valve. The pulmonary valve is then replaced with a pulmonary valve from a donor heart. This procedure allows the patient's pulmonary valve (now in the aortic position) to grow with the child. It does not require a blood thinner.

Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement
A transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to deliver and implant a new pulmonary valve without open-heart surgery. 

AV valve repair
Atrioventricular (AV) valve repair is highly individualized and may involve surgically adjusting, reconstructing or replacing valve leaflets, chordae tendineae (string-like tissues that connect the heart valve leaflets to the muscles of the heart) or annulus (ring-like structure at the base of a heart valve). 

Individualized care
Just like each child is different, so is each heart valve. Your child’s care team will use the most advanced imaging technology to carefully review your child’s unique anatomy and make the best possible treatment plan.