Bleeding and Needs for Blood Transfusion in Mitral Valve Replacement, Comparison Between Median Sternotomy and Minimally Invasive Approach.

Mitral valve disease is the most common form of the valvular heart disorders including mitral regurgitation and mitral stenosis. Surgical treatment includes repair and replacement with different approaches as conventional median sternotomy or minimally invasive approaches.

Since minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MMVS) was first described in the mid-to-late 1990s by pioneer surgeons Alain Carpentier and Randolph Chitwood, the techniques have evolved to include mini-thoracotomy, port-access thoracoscopic, partial sternotomy, and robotic. Right lateral mini-thoracotomy has become the standard approach for mitral valve surgery in many centers. These approaches may result in less surgical trauma, blood transfusions, and pain, thereby leading to a shorter hospital stay and faster return to daily activities. A reduction in postoperative hemorrhage and transfusion requirements have been suggested as a potential advantage of minimally invasive valve surgery. This benefit is important given the significant morbidity and mortality associated with transfusions and re-exploration for bleeding. Observational studies suggested that patients undergoing MMVS required fewer units of pRBCs transfused per patient and patients were at lower risk of transfusion. RCTs did not reach statistical significance. So, more studies were required to reach a definite conclusion.

Through this study our aim is to evaluate postoperative bleeding and needs for blood transfusion in conventional median sternotomy mitral valve replacement in comparison to minimally invasive approach.