Implementation of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery in a Novice Center

Background/Objectives: To investigate if mitral valve centers encounter challenges implementing Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery (MIMVS). Methods: We investigated mitral valve surgery patients, before and after MIMVS introduction. Results: We propensity score matched two hundred and sixty elective mitral valve patients for comparison. Surgical- (5.5 vs 4.3h), CPB- (180 vs 102 min) and aortic cross-clamp times (98 vs. 81 min) became longer after MIMVS introduction. One year mortality and in-hospital outcomes remained unaffected. Hospital length of stay shortened significantly after MIMVS (5d vs 7d p<0.001). Conclusion: Adopting MIMVS in a mitral valve center without prior experience in the procedure showed feasibility, equally good outcome and shorter hospital stay when compared to conventional sternotomy.