Minimally invasive treatment of multiple valve disease: A modified approach through a right lateral minithoracotomy

Minimal Access Aortic Valve Surgery

Minimally invasive approaches to the aortic valve have been described since 1993, with great hopes that they would become universal and facilitate day-case cardiac surgery. The literature has shown that these procedures can be undertaken with equivalent mortality rates, similar operative times, comparable costs, and some benefits regarding hospital length of stay. The competing efforts of transcatheter aortic valve implantation for these same outcomes have provided an excellent range of treatment options for patients from cardiology teams. We describe the current state of the art, including technical considerations, caveats, and complications of minimal access aortic surgery and predict future directions in this space.

Right Mini-Thoracotomy for Aortic Plus Mitral with or without Tricuspid Valve Surgery

OBJECTIVES

 Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly performed for isolated aortic or mitral valve procedures. However, combined minimally invasive aortic and mitral valve surgery is rare. We report our initial experience performing multiple valve procedures through a right-sided mini-thoracotomy (RMT) compared with sternotomy.

METHODS

 A total of 264 patients underwent aortic and mitral with or without tricuspid valve surgery through RMT (n = 25) or sternotomy (n = 239). Propensity score matching was used for outcome comparisons.

RESULTS

 Of the 264 patients, 25 (age: 72 ± 10 years; 72% male) underwent double (n = 19) and triple valve surgery (n = 6) through RMT and 239 (age: 71 ± 11 years; 54% male) underwent double (n = 176) and triple valve surgery (n = 63) through sternotomy. Sternotomy patients had more co-morbidities and preoperative risk factors (EuroSCORE II 10.25 ± 10.89 vs. RMT 3.58. ± 4.98; p < 0.001). RMT procedures were uneventful without intraoperative complications or conversions to sternotomy. After propensity score matching, surgical procedures were comparable between groups with a higher valve repair rate in RMT. Despite longer cardiopulmonary bypass times in RMT, there was no evidence for differences in 30-day mortality (RMT: n = 2 vs. sternotomy: n = 2) and there were no significant differences in other outcomes. During 5-year follow-up, reoperation was required in sternotomy patients only (n = 2). Follow-up echocardiography showed durable results after valve surgery. RMT patients showed higher survival probability compared with sternotomy, although this difference was not significant (hazard ratio = 0.33; 95% confidence interval: 0.06-1.65; p = 0.18).

CONCLUSION

 Combined aortic plus mitral with or without tricuspid valve surgery can safely be performed through a RMT with a trend toward better mid-term outcomes.

Outcomes in minimally invasive double valve surgery

OBJECTIVE

To review current literature evidence on outcomes of minimally invasive double valve surgeries (MIS).

METHODS

A comprehensive electronic literature search was done from inception to 20th June 2020 identifying articles that discussed outcomes of minimally invasive approach in double valve surgeries either as a solo cohort or as comparative to conventional sternotomies. No limit was placed on time and place of publication and the evidence has been summarized in narrative manner within the manuscript.

RESULTS

Majority of current literature reported similar perioperative and clinical outcomes between MIS and conventional median sternotomy; except that MIS has better cosmetic effects and pain control. Nevertheless, minimal invasive techniques are associated with longer cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times which may have impact on the reported outcomes and overall morbidity and mortality rates.

CONCLUSION

Minimally invasive double valve surgery continues to develop, but scarcity in the literature suggests uptake is slow, possibly due to the learning curve associated with MIS. Many outcomes appear to be comparable to conventional sternotomy. There is need for larger, multi-center, and randomized trial to fully evaluate and establish the early, mid- and long-term morbidity and mortality rates associated with both techniques.

Minimally invasive triple valve surgery: A single center experience

OBJECTIVE

Minimally invasive surgery is a widely accepted surgical treatment for valve disease, however triple valve surgery (TVS) is a complex and challenging procedure. The objective of this study was to describe the morbidity and mortality related to minimally invasive TVS at our institution.

METHODS

This was a retrospective review of all minimally invasive TVS performed between 2012 and 2019. Baseline and perioperative characteristics were reviewed, as were postoperative outcomes.

RESULTS

Eighteen patients underwent TVS; 12 patients underwent additional procedures at the time of TVS. Median time to initial extubation was 11.5 hours (interquartile range [IQR] 9.8-13.3). Intensive care unit and total length of stay were 1.22 (IQR, 1.16-1.31) and 9 (IQR, 6-17) days, respectively. No hospital deaths occurred; 30-, 90-, and 365-day mortality were 0%. Two postoperative neurologic complications occurred, two patients had acute kidney injuries. The most common complication was rhythm disturbance with five patients requiring permanent pacemaker implantation. Mean follow-up was 39.9 months (252-2642 days).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that minimally invasive TVS utilizing femoral cannulation results in an acceptable risk of complication. Short and intermediate term survival were excellent.