valvotomy /valvot″əmē/ [L, valva + Gk, temnein, to cut] , the incision into a valve, especially one in the heart, to correct a defect and allow proper opening and closure. Before surgery a cardiac catheterization is performed. With the patient under general anesthesia, the damaged valve is repaired, if possible, or removed. A prosthetic or biological valve suture is put in its place. Complications peculiar to prosthetic valve surgery are displacement of the valve caused by broken sutures, heart block, leakage and regurgitation from chamber to chamber, infection, and embolus.
