Patients with aortic valve disease can now, in selected cases, have their heart valve replaced through a small incision between the ribs instead of undergoing traditional surgery in which the breastbone is divided.
Aarhus University Hospital continues to collaborate with the heart centre in Bonn to further develop minimally invasive treatment options for Danish heart patients.
Calcification and narrowing of the aortic valve is the most common heart valve condition and can cause shortness of breath, fatigue and reduced physical capacity. For many patients, surgery is necessary to restore heart function and quality of life.
At Aarhus University Hospital, around 150 patients undergo major surgery for aortic valve disease each year. Some of these patients can now be offered a more gentle surgical technique that could shorten their recovery and help them return to everyday life sooner.
With the new procedure, the surgeon accesses the heart between the ribs on the right side of the chest. This avoids the traditional operation, in which the breastbone is divided to remove the diseased heart valve and implant a new one.
We achieve the same result with the heart valve as with the traditional operation. The difference is that patients do not have to wait for their breastbone to heal after the procedure. This means that many can use their upper body sooner, begin rehabilitation earlier and return to their daily activities more quickly.
Ali Imad El-Akkawi, specialist physician from the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery.
The technique has already been introduced at the department, and the first patients have undergone the procedure with positive results.
For some patients, the new technique may also provide a treatment option that was previously difficult to offer.
“We have already been able to operate on patients who, because of other medical conditions or particular circumstances, did not previously have an obvious treatment option. So the new technique is not only about making surgery less invasive, but also about being able to help more patients,” says Ali Imad El-Akkawi.
The surgical technique was introduced by Consultant Zaki Kohistani, who previously worked at an internationally recognised heart centre specialising in minimally invasive cardiac surgery in Bonn, Germany, before joining Aarhus University Hospital.
The introduction of the technique is the result of close collaboration between surgeons, anaesthesia staff, operating theatre nurses, perfusionists and other healthcare professionals in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery.
The aortic valve regulates the flow of blood out of the heart and prevents blood from flowing back into the heart. Calcification and narrowing of the aortic valve is the most common heart valve condition. In the new procedure, the surgeon accesses the heart between the ribs rather than through the breastbone.
Photo by Tonny Foghmar: The new, more gentle surgical technique is the result of close collaboration between surgeons, anaesthesia staff, operating theatre nurses, perfusionists and other healthcare professionals at the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Aarhus University Hospital.
