University of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Surgery: Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery

Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery

The heart has four valves that control the flow of blood through the heart: the mitral valve, the aortic valve, the tricuspid valve, and the pulmonary valve. If one or more of these valves does not work properly, it may need to be surgically repaired or replaced with an artificial valve.

Most valve repair or replacement operations are performed on the aortic or mitral valve. These valves are located on the left side of the heart, which has to do more work than the right side to pump blood to the body.

Traditionally, surgery for valve repair or replacement has involved making a large vertical incision in the center of the chest and completely splitting the breastbone. However, for eligible patients, surgeons at the University of Wisconsin are now able to use minimally invasive techniques for valve surgery.

These new techniques use smaller incisions and specialized instruments. Often the surgeon does not have to open the breastbone at all. If he does have to split the breastbone, he only needs to split a small portion of it.

This mean that patients have less pain, a decreased chance of infection, and a shorter recovery time after surgery.