Artificial hearts are made with polymeric heart valves. These valves are made out of durable, polymer plastic materials. However, though these artificial hearts do work and they have saved lives, these polymeric valves can sometimes be used to replace ailing heart valves. This can lead to a number of complications in patients.
Surgery
Polymeric heart valves can only be installed through risky surgery. Even with advances in less invasive tools and techniques, polymeric heart valves are complicated enough that the chest cavity may need to be opened up much more than some patients are comfortable with. This means there are the usual risks of surgery, in addition to the costs of surgery. Other treatments for the heart or for the heart valves may be less risky, especially if the biological material can still be saved and treated.
Rejection
Because polymeric heart valves aren't actual biological material, the body knows the material isn't supposed to be inside the flesh. This can lead to cases of rejection, which puts the patient in a lot of jeopardy. Anti-rejection medication can be used. If more than one heart valve is installed, you may have the additional problem of multiple rejections, which can lead to emergency surgery, exacerbating the stress to the body already done in the initial surgery.
Reoperation
Another big risk of polymeric heart valves is reoperation. These are mechanical and could malfunction and/or wear down. This means less-invasive procedures may be necessary to check up on the prosthetic and full surgery might be needed to fix problems or to install a replacement. Repeat surgery poses a greater risk each time for the patient.
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