Cardiac Surgery

Mitral Valve Prolapse & Treatment

The mitral valve controls blood flow through the left side of the heart. When it opens, the mitral valve allows blood to flow into the left ventricle -- the heart’s main pumping chamber. When the left ventricle contracts, the mitral valve closes in order to prevent blood from flowing back toward the lungs.

Sometimes the mitral valve is abnormal from birth. It can also become damaged by infection, with age or from heart disease.

What is Mitral Valve Prolapse?

If the mitral valve leaflets cannot tightly seal the left ventricle, this is called prolapse. With mitral valve prolapse, some blood flows back into the atrium – a condition called regurgitation. Regurgitation can make the heart work harder, leading to further valve damage and increasing the risk of heart failure.

Mitral Valve Prolapse Treatment Options

The treatment options available to a person with mitral valve prolapse depend on the severity of the condition. Some patients may not require any intervention. Others may be prescribed medications.

However, if your symptoms become severe, your doctor may recommend mitral valve prolapse surgery. There are two basic types of valve prolapse surgery: valve repair and valve replacement. In valve replacement, your surgeon cuts out the damaged valve and replaces it with a new, artificial valve. Valve repair involves the surgeon reconstructing your valve using your own tissues.

A new category of minimally invasive surgery, utilizing the robotic assistance of the da Vinci® Surgical System, is rewriting the book on mitral valve prolapse surgery. Learn more about da Vinci Mitral Valve Prolapse Surgery to help determine if it is the right option for you.

Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.

Mitral Valve Repair

If your doctor recommends surgery to treat mitral valve prolapse, you may be a candidate for da Vinci® Mitral Valve Repair, potentially the most effective least invasive treatment option available.

da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is an alternative to conventional open heart surgery – the traditional way to treat mitral valve disease. da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is performed using the da Vinci Surgical System, enabling your surgeon to operate with unparalleled precision and control through a few small incisions.

da Vinci can help your surgeon repair your valve and help you avoid mitral valve replacement, in which your natural valve tissues are cut away and replaced with an artificial valve. This is important because a repair can provide you with many significant advantages as compared with mitral valve replacement, including no need to take life-long blood thinners, less need for reoperation^1,2, reduced risk of surgical complications³, a higher long-term survival rate^4,5,6, and improved heart function⁴. A recent study suggests that the da Vinci System may allow surgeons to complete 50% more repairs than they can when using an open surgical approach.⁷

In addition to avoiding the pain and trauma of sternotomy and rib spreading, da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair provides most patients with the following benefits over open surgery:

• Less risk of infection
• Less blood loss and need for blood transfusions
• Shorter hospital stay
• Significantly less pain and scarring
• Faster recovery
• Quicker return to normal activities.
• And a potentially better clinical outcome

As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is both patient- and procedure-specific. While da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is considered safe and effective, it may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits.

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