Doctors on the medical staff of Methodist Health System offer patients minimally invasive reparative surgeries for the mitral and aortic heart valves. Two of the most important valves in the circulatory system, the mitral and aortic valves work simultaneously to keep blood flowing properly through the heart and to the rest of the body. Diseased or damaged heart valves may not function properly, and if left untreated, the condition can lead to heart failure, stroke or sudden cardiac death.
While mitral valve repair is minimally invasive, it can also be complex. “Mitral valve repair is the standard management for most patients with mitral regurgitation in 2017,” says thoracic surgeon and Methodist Health System Medical Director of Heart, Lung, and Vascular Services Dan Meyer, MD. “There are few centers in Dallas–Fort Worth capable of performing complex mitral valve repair, but the surgical team at Methodist has over 20 years of experience with this intricate procedure.”
Dr. Meyer says that minimally invasive surgery offers many benefits for patients including less surgical trauma, shorter hospital stay, lower risk of infection and complications, and less discomfort and postoperative pain. In addition, he says patients receive fewer blood transfusions during surgery, scars are minimized, and their time on the ventilator is shortened.
The minimally invasive aortic and mitral valve repair surgeries are available at Methodist Charlton, Methodist Dallas, Methodist Mansfield and Methodist Richardson medical centers.
