Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is currently the main surgical method for treatment of valvular heart disease in the world. It has grown in popularity over the past two decades driven by the benefits of low risks and complications from minimal access surgery such as less pain and a quicker recovery among patients, reduced hospital stay, decreased infection and bleeding rate, reduced morbidity and mortality.
The Cardiothoracic Surgery (CTS) unit at University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) has established a strong foundation and platform in the world of valve surgery. We have moved forward from open conventional sternotomy to minimally invasive surgery in valve repair/replacement since 2013. All our patients with valvular heart disease that require surgery are offered minimally invasive surgery as the first option of treatment by our surgical team.
Aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonary valve are the areas of CTS surgery mostly done via minimal access approaches. We have proactively put MIS valve surgery as one of the common surgical approaches in the intervention of the valve repair /replacement in Malaysia. As a centre of excellence for MIS treatment we have performed live cases and organises workshops to train future surgeons in MIS techniques.