Houston Cardiac Surgery Associates

The mitral valve is a complex structure that controls blood flow through the left side of the heart. When open, the mitral valve allows blood to flow into the heart's main pumping chamber, the left ventricle. When the left ventricle contracts to push blood through the body, the mitral valve closes to prevent blood from flowing back toward the lungs.

Sometimes the mitral valve is abnormal from birth or becomes damaged by infection. More often, mitral valve structures become damaged with age or from coronary artery disease.

Whatever the cause, an abnormal or damaged mitral valve cannot completely seal the heart's left ventricle. With an incomplete seal, blood can escape the left ventricle and flow backwards through the mitral valve. This conflicting force can make the heart work harder, leading to further mitral valve damage and other potential complications such as congestive heart failure.

Surgical Mitral Valve Repair

Mitral valve surgeries have always been a staple of modern cardiac surgery. However, until now, the only way to either repair or replace a heart valve was to open the chest of the patient and put them on a heart-lung oxygenator. Surgical repair involved delicate reconstruction of native valve tissues in order to restore proper function. The most common approach to repair requires the surgeon to saw open the breastbone and spread the ribs to gain direct access to the heart.

Cutting the sternum and opening the rib cage — the body's natural protective structure for the heart — can prolong healing time, increase risk of infection and serious complications. At Houston Cardiac Surgery Associates, Doctors Gomez and Gibson use every effort to utilize less invasive techniques.

Least Invasive Mitral Valve Repair Through Mini-Thoracotomy

You may be a candidate for Mitral Valve Repair via mini-thoracotomy, potentially the most effective least invasive treatment option available. A mini-thoracotomy mitral valve repair is an alternative to conventional open heart surgery – the traditional way to treat mitral valve disease. The minithoracotomy mitral valve repair is performed using a small incision between the ribs, enabling our surgeons to operate with unparalleled precision and control through a few small incisions.

Dr. Miguel Gomez can repair your valve and help you avoid mitral valve replacement, in which your natural valve tissues are cut away and replaced with an artificial valve. This is important because a repair can provide you with many significant advantages as compared with mitral valve replacement, including no need to take life-long blood thinners, less need for reoperation, reduced risk of surgical complications, a higher long-term survival rate, and improved heart function.

In addition to avoiding the pain and trauma of a full sternotomy and rib spreading, a mini-thoracotomy mitral valve repair provides most patients with the following benefits over open surgery:

• Less risk of infection
• Less blood loss and need for blood transfusions
• Shorter hospital stay
• Significantly less pain and scarring
• Faster recovery
• Quicker return to normal activities.
• And a potentially better clinical outcome