Certified Blogaholic

Advancement in Mitral Valve Surgery

Posted July 24th, 2008 by faith

One of the leading causes of death worldwide has always been heart disease. Through the efforts of medical experts, treatments have gone further than expected in the last decade. Apart from pacemakers, heart transplants, and the heart bypass, the new discoveries that scientists have studied in the past few years may even make these ancient treatments unnecessary. Now there are promising new studies on replacement of damaged heart tissues and other treatments that would involve stem cells or skeletal muscle cells.

The Maryland Heart Center is considered one of the leading medical institutions that have contributed to the advancement of treatments to heart disease. It has now specialized into mitral valve repair surgery where about 92% of patients have already undergone treatment. Traditionally, mitral valve surgery involved the removal of the damaged mitral valve and replacing it with an artificial one. However, at the Maryland Heart Center, cardiac surgeons now opt for mitral valve repair rather than this mitral valve replacement method. The approach has more advantages which include improved long-term survival rates and reduced risk of stroke, and freedom from long-term treatment with blood thinners.

Moreover, cardiac surgeons now implement the repair through minimally invasive mitral valve surgery. The surgery is performed through a two-inch keyhole incision on the chest to avoid incision in the breastbone and allow patients to return to work and everyday activity sooner after surgery.

With these new advancements in medical technology, heart disease may one day drop from the list of fatal diseases worldwide.