Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery.

Ann Cardiothorac Surg 2013;2(6):857 www.annalscts.com Background The mitral valve controls the direction and flow of blood through the left chambers of the heart. If the valve becomes too hard (calcified) and too narrow (stenosis), flow will be reduced; if the valve becomes too loose, flow might travel backwards (regurgitation). Abnormal blood flow will force the heart to work harder, eventually causing heart failure. Symptoms that this is occurring include shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain, syncope and/or fatigue. When these symptoms become severe, the surgeon can decide to repair or replace the mitral valve through open heart surgery, which usually requires the breastbone to be cut open, or through a minimally invasive approach, which requires only small cuts to be made in the right side of the chest. Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery ACS Patient Page