Kirsten attends for surgery a few months later. She is discharged home after 7 days in hospital. Following her surgery Kirsten is reviewed by the surgeons and then receives a further assessment with her CHD team around 4 months after her operation. She has an echo and ECG performed and these are reviewed by her Consultant and nurse specialist. The function and size of her right ventricle has improved and her symptoms are much better.
Kirsten’s care is then shared between her local cardiologist and the specialist centre, who arrange to see her back at clinic in a year for a repeat assessment including MRI, CPET, echo and ECG. Kirsten knows she can contact her nurse specialist at any time, if she needs to, or if anything changes. She is made aware of the need to reduce her risk of endocarditis and also of informing the team if she plans to get pregnant in the future. This will ensure she is able to have a full assessment prior to any pregnancy.
Pulse point
Patients who have had a conduit replacement or a previous pulmonary valve replacement can potentially have future valve replacements done using a transcatheter approach. A valve is sutured within a metal stent and is delivered from the femoral vein to the heart using a balloon catheter. The procedure is less invasive and takes place under a general anaesthetic in a cardiac catheterisation lab. The hospital stay and recovery period for patients who have this procedure is often much shorter compared to patients who have cardiac surgery. For more information on transcatheter valve replacements visit Medtronic Melody: Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve (TPV) Therapy.
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