Minimal invasive aortic valve replacement surgery is associated with improved survival: a propensity-matched comparison.

OBJECTIVES To compare early and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) versus full sternotomy (FS) isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR). METHODS We retrospectively analysed all patients who underwent isolated bioprosthetic AVR between 2003 and March 2012 at our institution. Matching was performed based on a propensity score, which was obtained using the output of a logistic regression on relevant preoperative risk factors. Mean follow-up was 3.1±2.7 years (range 0-9.0 years) and was 99.8% complete. RESULTS A total of 2051 patients (FS, 1572; MIS, 479) underwent isolated bioprosthetic AVR during the study period. MIS patients were significantly younger (67.8±11.2 vs 70.4±9.4 years) and had a lower logistic EuroSCORE (6.6±6.4 vs 11.2±13.4%, both P<0.001). Propensity matching resulted in 477 matched patients from each group, with no significant differences in any of the preoperative variables. Aortic cross-clamp times were significantly longer in MIS patients (59.4±16.0 vs 56.9±14.6 min, P=0.008). Nonetheless, MIS AVR was associated with a significantly lower incidence of intra-aortic balloon pump usage (0.4 vs 2.1%, P=0.042) and in-hospital mortality (0.4 vs 2.3%, P=0.013), while FS patients had a lower rate of re-exploration for bleeding (1.5 vs 4.2%, P=0.019). Five- and 8-year survival post-AVR was significantly higher in MIS patients (89.3±2.4% and 77.7±4.7% vs 81.8±2.2% and 72.8±3.1%, respectively, P=0.034). Cox regression analysis revealed MIS (hazard ratio: 0.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.26-0.87) as an independent predictor of long-term survival. CONCLUSION MIS AVR is associated with very good early and long-term survival, despite longer myocardial ischaemic times. MIS AVR can be performed safely with results that are at least equivalent to those achieved through an FS.