Research results have shown that minimally invasive surgery can be a new alternative that surpasses existing standard treatment methods in surgeries for 'complex heart valve disease' where multiple heart valves are simultaneously affected.
Professor Je Hyung-gon and his research team from Bundang Seoul National University Hospital presented the 'Mid-term Results of Minimally Invasive Surgery for Complex Valvular Disease Including Aortic Valve' at the 57th Annual Fall Conference of the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. The research team explained that good results were obtained in terms of both safety and recovery speed for patients with complex heart valve disease who underwent minimally invasive surgery.
The research team analyzed the surgical outcomes of 203 patients with complex heart valve disease, which has a predicted mortality rate of about 3% and is considered a high-difficulty surgery, from May 2015 to May 2025. Among them, 173 underwent median sternotomy, while 30 underwent minimally invasive surgery.
As a result, the success rate for the median sternotomy group was 97%, while the minimally invasive surgery group achieved a 100% success rate. There were no major complications or cases of heart assist device usage in the minimally invasive surgery group.
The recovery speed also showed a difference. Most patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery were discharged within 4 to 5 days, which was shorter than the hospitalization period for median sternotomy patients (8 to 9 days).
In the past, surgery for complex heart valve disease was considered standard treatment with median sternotomy, which involves a long incision through the center of the chest. While it has the advantage of providing a clear surgical view, it also has the disadvantages of causing severe pain, a long recovery period, and leaving large scars due to the wide incision.
On the other hand, minimally invasive surgery minimizes pain and scarring and can accelerate recovery, but it has been rarely applied to complex valve diseases due to the difficulty of the surgery. This study clinically demonstrated the possibility that minimally invasive surgery could completely replace existing surgical methods in the field of high-difficulty heart surgery.
Professor Je explained, "Minimally invasive surgery is not just a method that reduces incisions, but a comprehensive medical effort that prioritizes patient safety and aids in fast and efficient recovery."
