Maryland Heart Center

Surgical Treatments

Six-year UM study finds minimally invasive mitral valve repair techniques safe, durable and effective.

Mitral Valve Repair Surgery

Ask the Expert

Get answers to your Mitral Valve Repair questions.

Dr. Gammie’s Bio | Q&A Archive

Note: This is for informational purposes only. Doctors cannot provide a diagnosis or individual treatment advice via e-mail. Please consult your physician about your specific health care concerns.

Please install flash player to see this video.

Heart Center Virtual Tour

Related Content

At the Maryland Heart Center, we specialize in the surgical treatment of valvular disease, including mitral valve repair surgery. Mitral valve repair is used to treat regurgitation (leakage) or stenosis (narrowing) of the mitral valve. Traditionally, surgeons have treated mitral valve disease by removing the diseased valve and implanting an artificial valve (valve replacement).

Now, cardiac surgeons at the Maryland Heart Center are leaders in repairing the mitral valve. About 92 percent of patients at the Heart Center will have their valve repaired instead of replaced. That's well above the national average, where typically 55 percent of patients have their valve repaired.

The many advantages of this approach include improved long-term survival rates and reduced risk of stroke, and freedom from long-term treatment with blood thinners.

In addition, Heart Center surgeons are now routinely performing videoscopic minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery. Performed through a two-inch keyhole incision on the side of the chest, this approach avoids an incision in the breastbone and allows patients to return to work and everyday activity sooner after surgery.

What is the Mitral Valve?

The mitral valve (named after a Bishop's miter) is the "inflow valve" for the main pumping chamber of the heart, the left ventricle. Blood flows from the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, across the open mitral valve and into the left ventricle. When the heart squeezes, the two leaflets of the mitral valve snap shut and prevent blood from backing up to the lungs. Blood is directed out of the heart to the rest of the body through another valve, the aortic valve.

To find out if you're a candidate for mitral valve repair and/or minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery, please call 410-328-5842 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.

Please call if you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services. Patients dial 1-800-492-5538 or 410-328-5842, physicians dial 410-328-6622 or 1-800-318-1019.