Research Alert: Which Patients Qualify for Robotic Mitral Valve Surgery?

Many patients undergoing mitral valve surgery find that robotic options offer benefits such as reduced blood loss, lower risk of infection, shorter hospital stay, less pain, and an overall quicker recovery. However, not everyone qualifies due to co-morbidities or severe valvular disease. Recent research now shows more people are eligible as surgeons expertise with robotic techniques grows, while positive patient outcomes remain high.

To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Marc Gillinov, the Chairman of Cardiac Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Gillinov has decades of experience in minimally-invasive and robotic mitral valve surgery.

Video available online at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Z6pL_h1cY

Facts About Robotic Mitral Valve Surgery and Patient Selection

Here are the key insights shared by Dr. Gillinov:

• What did you and your team find in the recently published research titled, “Patient Selection in Robotic Mitral Valve Surgery” Dr. Gillinov said, “We found that we can use the surgical robot for more and more people with mitral valve problems. It used to be you had to have a very specific profile or set of criteria to use the surgical robot.” He explained that, after thousands of operations, they can expand the criteria to include more patients eligible for robotic mitral valve surgery.

• What can surgeons do differently now with the surgical robot? “We can repair valves that have calcium in them; we can replace valves, and we can do re-operations,” he said. “For people with mitral valve prolapse, which means the valve is floppy and leaks, we can almost always do the procedure robotically. In fact, we’ve expanded the indication so much that we’ve just bought another surgical robot at the Cleveland Clinic. Now we have two full-time robots just for cardiac surgery, and they’re in use all the time. It’s really amazing to make rounds and see so many patients with little incisions who are going home in three or four days.”

• Can atrial fibrillation also be treated during a robotic mitral valve procedure? “Yes, we have extended our ability to do all kinds of operations with the robot, and we can now do an extremely effective Maze procedure or ablation for atrial fibrillation with the robot,” said Dr. Gillinov. “It took a while to figure out the exact techniques and precise tools to use, but we’ve got it.”

Thanks Dr. Gillinov and Cleveland Clinic!

On behalf of all the patients in our community, thank you, Dr. Marc Gillinov, for everything you and your team are doing at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio!

Related links:

• See Dr. Marc Gillinov’s Interactive Surgeon Profile with 100+ Patient Reviews

• Watch "3 Questions to Ask Before Mitral Valve Surgery" with Dr. Gillinov

Keep on tickin,
Adam

P.S. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of our patient community, we have provided a written transcript of our interview with Dr. Gillinov below.