{"id":337,"date":"2020-10-22T00:09:32","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T00:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/?page_id=337"},"modified":"2025-07-09T12:04:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:04:25","slug":"mitral-valve-repair-dr-joanna-chikwe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/mitral-valve-repair-dr-joanna-chikwe\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitral Valve Repair: Different Approaches for Different Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret.<\/p>\n<p>If you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/mitral-valve-regurgitation-symptoms-leaking.php\">severe mitral regurgitation<\/a>, the recommended procedure for most patients is a mitral valve repair.\u00a0 Compared to a mitral valve replacement, patients who undergo a repair benefit from long-term durability, freedom from re-operation, no prolonged use of blood-thinning medications, and a normal life expectancy.<\/p>\n<p>However&#8230; In 2025, patients seeking a highly-skilled medical team capable of performing a mitral valve repair are often confused by the different surgical and transcatheter approaches currently available.<\/p>\n<p>To answer your questions about the different types of mitral valve repair operations, I just interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Joanna-Chikwe-Los+Angeles-California.php\">Dr. Joanna Chikwe<\/a>, the Chair of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.\u00a0 Dr. Chikwe is a long-time supporter of HeartValveSurgery.com who has successfully treated many patients in our community including Joey Nakazawa, Chris Fager and Patricia Reuter.\u00a0 Here are the highlights from this important interview:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/puppIZmk0Yg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Key Insights About the Different Types of Mitral Valve Repair Surgery<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Chikwe shared several important points during this interview that I want to highlight for our patient community:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Chikwe has specialized on heart valve surgery in her practice because valvular procedures have a profound and positive impact on the quality of life for her patients.\u00a0 Heart valve surgery, according to Dr. Chikwe, is challenging, demanding and rewarding.<\/li>\n<li>Mitral valve repair operations are typically reserved for patients who have mitral regurgitation, a leaking valve.\u00a0 There are two causes of mitral regurgitation including (i)\u00a0 functional mitral regurgitation in which the valve leaflets pull apart and (ii) floppy mitral valve regurgitation (mitral valve prolapse) which impacts up to 7 million people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/mitral-valve-arrow.jpg\" alt=\"Mitral Valve Diagram\" width=\"650\" height=\"346\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Chikwe believes there are &#8220;5 things&#8221; patients with mitral regurgitation should know about symptoms related to this disease.\u00a0 Patients may be asymptomatic (without symptoms).\u00a0 Patients may feel &#8220;winded&#8221; and short of breath.\u00a0 Patients may experience heart palpitations caused by atrial fibrillation.\u00a0 Patients may have chest tightness.\u00a0 And, patients can be fatigued.<\/li>\n<li>Life expectancy is a big consideration for mitral regurgitation patients who need a mitral valve repair.\u00a0 According to Dr. Chikwe, if a patient receives a great mitral valve repair, there is a very good possibility they will have a normal life expectancy.\u00a0 Unfortunately, if a patient waits to get treatment for mitral regurgitation, that delay can negatively impact their life expectancy.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Chikwe considers a sternotomy (an incision through the chest), which is a very effective approach during open-heart surgery, to be the &#8220;old gold standard&#8221; for mitral valve repair.<\/li>\n<li>The &#8220;new gold standard&#8221; for Dr. Chikwe uses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/robotic-mitral-valve-surgery\">robotic assistance for reconstructing the mitral valve through minimally-invasive incisions<\/a> near the ribs.\u00a0 Benefits of robotic surgery for Dr. Chikwe&#8217;s patients include tiny incisions and accelerated recoveries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/mitral-valve-repair-da-vinci-robot-assistance.jpg\" alt=\"Da Vinci Robot for Mitral Valve Repair Surgery\" width=\"650\" height=\"349\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>According to Dr. Chikwe, the MitraClip is a &#8220;Game Changer&#8221; for patients with functional mitral regurgitation who did not have many surgical options available to them prior to the development of transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) devices.\u00a0 There is no incision to the patient&#8217;s chest or ribs during this TMVR procedure.\u00a0 The MitraClip &#8220;clips&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/mitral-leaflets.php\">mitral valve leaflets<\/a> together to prevent back-flow of blood.\u00a0 Patients who get a MitraClip implanted often leave the hospital the next day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/mitraclip-abbott-labs.jpg\" alt=\"MitraClip Implanted in Mitral Valve\" width=\"650\" height=\"344\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dr. Chikwe leverages several techniques to repair a mitral valve including (i) triangular reduction of floppy mitral valve leaflet tissue, (ii) annuloplasty ring implantation to support the mitral valve and bring it together, and (iii) implantation of mitral chords.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/mitral-valve-repair-tissue-resection-annuloplasty-ring.jpg\" alt=\"Mitral Valve Repair: Before &amp; After Resection &amp; Annuloplasty Ring\" width=\"650\" height=\"363\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib), Dr. Chikwe uses the Maze Procedure to minimize the risk of stroke caused by AFib. Other concomitant procedures during mitral valve repair include fixing the tricuspid valve, PFO closure, coronary bypass graft and additional heart valve therapies.<\/li>\n<li>In the future, Dr. Chikwe sees a continued and rapid evolution of minimally-invasive techniques for mitral valve repair techniques.\u00a0 According to Dr. Chikwe, randomized clinical trials will help evaluate the success or failure of these new devices.<\/li>\n<li>It is very important for patients to discuss mitral valve repair approaches with their cardiologists and their surgeons.\u00a0 Certain surgical procedures are better suited for younger patients needing mitral valve repair surgery while the MitraClip could be a viable option for older, higher-risk patients.<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Chikwe&#8217;s top advice specific to mitral valve repair is that patients should ask their potential doctors, &#8220;How many repairs have you done successfully in patients that look like me with my valve anatomy?&#8221;\u00a0 According to Dr. Chikwe, patients want the answer to that question to be &#8220;hundreds&#8221; of mitral valve repairs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Thanks Dr. Chikwe &amp; Cedars-Sinai!!!<\/h2>\n<p>On behalf of our patient community, I would like to thank Dr. Chikwe for taking the time to share her clinical experiences and research specific to mitral valve repair.\u00a0 I would also like to thank all of the great people at Cedars-Sinai who have helped so many patients from HeartValveSurgery.com.<\/p>\n<p>Related Posts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Joanna-Chikwe-Los+Angeles-California.php\">See 75+ Patient Reviews for Dr. Joanna Chikwe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/patient-recovery-expectations\/\">Patient Video: Leila&#8217;s Robotic Mitral Valve Surgery Success<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/mitral-leaflets.php\">Mitral Valve Leaflets: 7 Important Facts to Know<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keep on tickin!<br \/>\nAdam<\/p>\n<p>P.S. For the hearing impaired members of our community, I have provided a written transcript of my interview with Dr. Chikwe below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"cms.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"class_list":["post-337","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-mitral-valve-repair"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5918,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/337\/revisions\/5918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}