After the sutures are tightened, the surgeon inspects her work to make sure that blood won't leak around the valve. Then each suture is carefully tied using multiple knots and the extraneous lengths of suture are cut off. The surgeon checks that the flow of blood to the coronary arteries will not be obstructed. The coronaries feed oxygenated blood to the left and right sides of the heart, providing energy and oxygen to the heart muscle. The valve is inspected to minimize the chance of blood leaking around or through it and the aorta is sutured back together.
Some blood is released into the heart to check for leaks.
Once the surgeon is satisfied, air bubbles are purged from the heart and the patient is taken off of heart-lung bypass. The patient is closed back up and sent to recovery. After surgery, the patient is often put on anticoagulant medication to minimize the risk of stroke or heart attack. A small amount of bleeding may occur at the incision due to these blood-thinning drugs that limit the blood's ability to clot, and is normal. Assuming that the patient is otherwise healthy, discharge usually occurs in a few days.