{"id":3461,"date":"2010-12-08T14:27:52","date_gmt":"2010-12-08T19:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=3461"},"modified":"2019-02-26T20:32:24","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T01:32:24","slug":"minimally-invasive-valve-aortic-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2010\/12\/08\/minimally-invasive-valve-aortic-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhy Didn\u2019t You Get Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery?\u201d Asks Anne"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just received a very appropriate question from Anne about minimally invasive approaches to heart valve surgery. Anne writes, \u201cAdam \u2013 Like you, I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis<\/a>. I need an aortic valve replacement<\/a>. Why didn\u2019t you get a minimally invasive surgery? Thanks, Anne\u201d<\/p>\n

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This is an interesting question to answer considering (i) each patient case is unique and (ii) different surgical approaches may be more suitable for one patient relative to another. For me… On one hand, I was attracted to the benefits of minimally invasive procedures \u2013 less physical trauma, accelerated recovery time, shorter hospital stays, etc.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, I wanted a very specific form of aortic valve replacement, known as the Ross Procedure or Switch Procedure<\/a>, which required a median sternotomy<\/a>. In this procedure, the pulmonary valve is removed and stitched into the aortic position. Then, a human donor valve (known as a homograft) is placed in the pulmonary position.<\/p>\n

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Like most things in life, there are trade-offs<\/strong> associated with any selection process. Selecting a valvular procedure is no different. Here are the trade-offs I encountered:<\/p>\n