Treatment
- Coronary Surgery. Patient with coronary artery disease may benefit from coronary bypass grafting, with mammary or radial artery or with safenous vein as grafts. The operation is performed with or without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass.
- Minimally invasive valvular surgery. Valvular surgery can be performed by minimally invasive techniques, such as with mini sternotomies or video-assisted port-access surgery.
- Mitral, aortic and tricuspid repair. Valvular repair is possible in most mitral and tricuspid insufficiencies. A repaired valve maintains function over time more than a bioprosthesis and does not need permanent anticoagulation.
- Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is feasible in certain cases of calcified aortic stenosis, both through transapical or tranfemoral approach.
- Aortic thoraco-abdominal aneurism repair. Aortic thoraco-abdominal aneurisms that cannot be excluded by endoprosthesis due to the presence of collateral branches within the aneurism need a surgical repair with extracorporeal circulation and hypothermia.
- Atrial fibrillation surgery. Convencional and minimally invasive Cox-Maze procedures. Patients with isolated symptomatic atrial fibrillation in which antiarrhythmic medication mails, a percutaneous ablation is indicated. If this strategy mails, patients may benefit from thoracoscopic pulmonary vein isolation ablation. In patients with atrial fibrillation concomitant to other surgical procedure, we associate a Cox-Maze IV procedure to convert to sinus rhythm.
- Cardiac insufficiency surgery. Patients with end-stage heart insufficiency may be candidates to heart transplantation. In other cases, they may benefit from ventricular assist devices as destination-therapy strategy.
- Cardiac tumors. Most cardiac tumors are benign. Nevertheless, they have indication for surgical removal due to the high possibility of hemodynamic or embolic complications.