TMRO's McCarville Undergoes Open Heart Surgery

The McCarville Report Online's Mike McCarville is undergoing open heart surgery at Oklahoma Heart Hospital today to correct a birth defect.

McCarville was born with a missing valve ("leaflet") in his aorta, a routine examination earlier this year discovered; the operation will replace the aortic valve, thus eliminating the defect.

About 2 percent of the population is born with a bicuspid valve rather than a tricuspid valve; this tends to weaken the heart muscle because the overworked and damaged valves allow blood to flow backwards, causing the heart to work harder to maintain flow to the body.

Heart surgeon Dr. Marvin Peyton of the OU Health Sciences Center, one of the top specialists in the nation, is performing the operation, one of an estimated 100,000 that will be performed nationwide this year.

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