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Mitral valve surgery - minimally invasive - Risks

Alternative Names

Mitral valve repair - right mini-thoracotomy; Mitral valve repair - partial upper sternotomy; Robotically-assisted, endoscopic valve repair, Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty

Risks:

Risks for any surgery are:

Blood clots in the legs that may travel to the lungs
Blood loss
Breathing problems
Infection, including in the lungs, kidneys, bladder, chest, or heart valves
Reactions to medicines

Minimally invasive surgery techniques have far fewer risks than open surgery. Possible risks from minimally invasive valve surgery are:

Damage to other organs, nerves, or bones
Heart attack, stroke, or death
Infection of the new valve
Irregular heartbeat that must be treated with medicines or a pacemaker
Kidney failure
Poor healing of the wounds

Reviewed last on: 1/26/2011
Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, specializing in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Fullerton DA, Harken AH. Acquired heart disease: valvular. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 62.

Popma JJ, Baim DS, Resnic FS. Percutaneous coronary and valvular intervention. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 55.

Otto CM, Bonow RO. Valvular heart disease. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 62.

Verma S, Mesana TG. Mitral-valve repair for mitral-valve prolapse. N Engl J Med. 2009; 361: 2261-2269.

Brinkman WT, Mack MJ. Transcatheter cardiac valve interventions. Surg Clin North Am. 2009;89:951-966.

Chandrashekhar Y, Westaby S, Narula J. Mitral stenosis. Lancet. 2009;374:1271-1283. Epub 2009 Sep 9.

Enriquez-Sarano M, Akins CW, Vahanian A. Mitral regurgitation. Lancet. 2009;373:1382-1394.

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