Overview

Mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement are types of surgery to fix or replace a leaky or stiff mitral valve in the heart. The mitral valve is between the left heart chambers (left atrium and left ventricle).

Mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement may be done as an open-heart surgery procedure or as minimally invasive heart surgery. Sometimes a mitral valve problem may be treated with a catheter-based procedure. The specific procedure used depends on the severity of your mitral valve disease and whether it's getting worse.