Isolated and concomitant minimally invasive minithoracotomy aortic valve surgery

Objective: To evaluate whether the outcomes of minimally invasive aortic valve surgery were similar in younger versus older patient groups, as well as whether concomitant minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgeries added significant risks in these populations. Methods: We performed a single-institution retrospective analysis of 1018 patients undergoing isolated AVR and 378 patients undergoing concomitant AVR procedures over a 6-year period. All surgeries were via a right minithoracotomy approach, and patients who underwent reoperation were excluded. Results: Mortality was 1.3% in the isolated AVR group and 3.2% in the concomitant AVR group. The incidence of permanent stroke was low in both the isolated and concomitant AVR groups (0.8% and 1.1%, respectively). In both groups, femoral cannulation was associated with equally low stroke rates (0.8% and 0.6%, respectively). When analyzing operative outcomes by age, mortality was similar for the isolated AVR group (age <80 vs >= 80 years, 0.9% vs 2.2%; P = .07) and the concomitant AVR group (<80 vs >= 80 years, 3.2% vs 3.2%; P = .99), whereas transfusion requirements, intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay, and atrial fibrillation rates were greater in the older subsets of both AVR groups. Conclusions: Minimally invasive right thoracotomy AVR surgery was associated with low stroke and mortality rates in all age groups within 30 days of surgery. Similarly, minithoracotomy concomitant AVR surgery demonstrated excellent results and is deemed feasible in patients with multiple pathologies.