Medication: To treat mild symptoms caused by valve disease, medication may be used to improve the pumping function of the heart. Valve repair surgery: Surgeons may repair their own valves using shaping procedures, such as tendon grafting or shortening, leaflet plication, and annuloplasty with an elastomeric ring. Valve replacement surgery: For patients with severe valve lesions, surgeons will choose valve replacement surgery. Types of Prosthetic Valves Mechanical Valves Prosthetic valves made of metal and pyrolytic carbon through mechanical processing are collectively referred to as mechanical valves. Throughout the history of mechanical valves, one can probably divide them into four generations. The first generation, represented by the Star-Edwards ball-cage flap, was introduced. The second generation, represented by the caged disc valve, was used and then led to its elimination because of the large transvalvular pressure difference and poor hemodynamic performance. The third generation, represented by the Bjork-Shiley flap with a laterally tilted butterfly valve, achieved clinically acceptable results due to reasonable design and conception, both in terms of hemodynamic performance and the lesser complications of the artificial flap. In the fourth generation, the introduction of the double-lobe mechanical valve represented by the St.-JudeMedic in 1980 brought the development of mechanical valves into a new phase. Its performance has been recognized by cardiac surgeons worldwide. It is currently used in large numbers in clinical practice. However, the only disadvantage of mechanical valves is the high rate of thromboembolism, which requires the patient to take anticoagulants for life. Stented bioprosthetic valves Any valve made artificially from homologous human valves or from biologic materials such as allogeneic aortic valves and bovine pericardium can be called a bioprosthetic valve. Biological valves were developed and put into clinical use in China in the 1970s. It has the advantage of low thromboembolic rate without anticoagulation. It has good hemodynamic performance in clinical use and still cannot be replaced by a mechanical valve. However, the disadvantage is that valve longevity and calcification problems have not yet been satisfactorily resolved, and most patients are at risk of secondary surgery to reopen the valve. The stentless valve is a type of biologic valve that is mainly characterized by the absence of stent support when sewing the biologic valve, thus not only making the valve less stressful, but also partially restoring the function of the annulus and subvalvular structures and making its bionic nature more physiologically correct. Currently, stentless bioprosthetic valves are widely used abroad because of their low transvalvular pressure difference, good hemodynamic performance, and longer durability than stented bioprosthetic valves. The implantation of this valve is technically challenging and requires a high level of operator skill, and it has only been introduced in China in recent years, with a limited number of procedures.