Patients and Visitors

• Overview
• Patient Education

• Procedures

• Mitral Valve Repair
• Robotic Modified Maze
• Robotic Closure of ASD
• Left Ventricular Lead Placement for Heart Failure
• Benefits of Robotic Surgery

Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery for Mitral Valve Prolapse

What is Mitral Valve Disease?

There are four valves within your heart. They are the mitral, tricuspid, aortic and pulmonic valves. The mitral valve lies between the left atrium (upper heart chamber) and the left ventricle (lower heart chamber). The mitral valve controls blood flow through the left side of the heart. When it opens, the mitral valve allows blood to flow into the left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber.

 

 

• When the left ventricle contracts, the mitral valve closes to prevent blood from flowing back toward the lungs.Sometimes the mitral valve is abnormal from birth. It can also become damaged by infection, with age or from heart disease.
  
• Whatever the cause for the disease, an abnormal or damaged mitral valve cannot completely seal the heart's left ventricle. This is called prolapse.
  
• With an incomplete seal, blood can escape the left ventricle and flow backwards through the mitral valve back into the atrium a condition called regurgitation. This conflicting force can make the heart work harder, leading to further mitral valve damage and other potential complications such as congestive heart failure.

• With the advent of minimally invasive robotic surgery, new technology became available involving less trauma, less pain and faster recovery - the da Vinci^® Surgical System.
  
• With minimally invasive robotic surgery, surgeons use da Vinci's remote-controlled robotic arms to perform the procedure, making small incisions in the side of the chest without opening the chest.
  
• Ports are used to pass materials into the chest like a video camera and two or three additional robotic instruments.

Potential Patient Benefits

There are a number of potential benefits for the patient. These include:

• Less post-operative pain.
• Less risk of infection.
• Less anesthesia.
• Less blood loss.
• Shorter hospital stay.
• Faster and more complete recovery.
• Quicker return to normal daily activities.
  
  
  Clinical Reference

• Endoscopic robotic mitral valve surgery, Douglas A. Murphy, MD, Jeffrey S. Miller, MD, David A. Langford, MD, and Averel B. Snyder, MD, American Journal of Thoracic and Cardiothoracic Surgery, October 2006.

For more information about robotic surgery, call 1-866-250-STJO or click here .