Robotic Mitral Valve Repair

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed
First Published: August 2004
Last Revised: May 2008

Contact Information

For more information please contact us

Mark Iannettoni, MD
319-356-1133

Jessie Stevens
jessie-stevens@uiowa.edu

Some hospitals now offer minimally invasive mitral valve repair using the Da Vinci robotic system. This method incorporates the latest advances in robotic computer technology and surgical skill. What once required complete division of the sternum or breastbone can now be done through a 2-inch incision on the right chest. This new method involves many of the same steps, as the open surgery but eliminates one of the most painful steps, the need for fully opening the chest cavity. Patient benefits include shorter hospitals stay, less pain, less scarring, faster recovery and a quickened return to normal activities.

The Mitral Valve

The mitral valve is the inflow valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Oxygenated blood from the lungs enters the left atrium, passes through the mitral valve, then on to the left ventricle which pumps blood throughout the body. Patients with a leaky mitral valve have blood going in the wrong direction during ventricular contraction. The left atrial pressure rises and fluid may accumulate in the lungs. Symptoms include weakness, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

Who is a Candidate for Robotic Mitral Valve Surgery?

Robotically assisted mitral valve surgery is currently indicated for patients isolated mitral valve disease, which is felt amenable to repair. This will be determined by medical history and physical exam, as well as review of the cardiac echo or ultrasound. Patients needing coronary bypass surgery in addition to mitral valve surgery would not be candidates.

University of Iowa Robotic Cardiothoracic Surgery Program

Mark Iannettoni, MD, currently performs robotic cardiac and thoracic surgeries with assistance from at least one other patient-side staff surgeon. Iannettoni did his first robotically assisted surgery at the Michigan Health Center in 1998. University of Iowa cardiothoracic surgeons have since used the robotic system for a variety of cardiac and thoracic surgical cases. Our teams of surgeons, nurses, perfusionists, and anesthesiologists are specially trained for robotic cardiothoracic surgery and completed the first case in 2004.

Minimal access surgeries are performed by the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery for a variety of cardiac and thoracic diseases with and without robotic assistance.

da Vinci® Surgical System