When does a patient require a homograft (heart valve) transplant?
Homograft or heart valve implant surgery is done to replace heart valves that are not functioning properly. Patients who require heart valve implantation surgery include those who are born with heart valve defects (e.g.Hole in the Heart) or those with diseased or infected heart valves.
Symptoms of heart valve malfunction
Heart valve diseases disturb the normal flow of blood through the heart. Patients may experience symptoms such as breathlessness, palpitations, tiredness and dizzy spells. This may affect their overall health and prevent them from enjoying daily and outdoor activities.
Eligibility of implantation
Patients who are born with heart valve defects or have infected heart valves will be assessed via echocardiography by the cardiologist. The cardiologist will then discuss with the surgical team and the patient regarding the choice of valves for a heart valve surgery.
The Cardiovascular Homograft Team
The team consists of a group of physicians, surgeons, nurses, transplant coordinators and scientific officers from the National Heart Centre Singapore The team undergoes regular training at leading tissue banks and participates in international conferences in Australia, Europe and the United States to equip themselves with the latest and highest standard of tissue banking.
In 2011, all our Tissue Bank Directors, senior scientific officer and transplant coordinator were certified to be Tissue Bank Specialists, a professional mark awarded by the American Association of Tissue Bank (AATB) to those who have met the requirements in education, experience and competency with its tissue banking standards.
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