Introduction: We have experienced a growing demand from patients for minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
Material and methods: From March 2006 through November 2007 we performed endoscopic mitral valve surgery in 30 patients (20 mitral valve repairs, eight mitral valve replacements and two extirpations of mitral valve fibroelstoma). Seven patients had concomitant surgery, including cryomaze to eliminate atrial fibrillation and/or closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD). Median preoperative functional class was New York Heart Association (NYHA) II and all patients had severe mitral valve regurgitation. The mean age was 58.0 +/-3 years and 27% of the patients were females.
Results: The procedure was performed successfully in all patients with no conversion to sternotomy, while postoperative morbidity was very limited and no mortality was seen. Early echocardiographic follow-up showed fully competent mitral valve repairs.
Conclusion: Endoscopic mitral valve surgery is an attractive alternative to conventional sternotomy with an attractive cosmetic result. This can be obtained without compromising quality or safety. This paper confirms that endoscopic mitral valve surgery is feasible and it provides the least invasive operative approach. The technique is currently our primary surgical approach for mitral valve disease.