PENSACOLA, Fla.. – Sacred Heart Hospital is now offering patients who need heart valve repair with an advanced surgical technique that allows for a small incision and a quicker, less painful recovery.

In the standard surgery to fix a leaking mitral valve in the heart, a cardiac surgeon starts the operation by cutting a long incision down the center of the patient’s breastbone. Dr. William Bailey, a heart surgeon with Cardiothoracic Surgical Associates, said the less invasive technique he performs at Sacred Heart requires only a small incision between the ribs. By not having to cut through bone and muscle, the procedure lowers the risk of infection, reduces pain and blood loss, and leaves only a small ;scar instead of a large one down the middle of the chest.

“It’s a different approach that also makes it easier for the surgeon to see and evaluate the leaking heart valve,” said Dr. Bailey. “Patients benefit from a shorter length of stay in the hospital and a faster recovery compared to the standard open-heart surgery.” Dr. Bailey said that although the procedures requires only a two-inch incision on the right side of the chest, the surgeon is able to see and reach the heart valve more easily than if the incision is made in the sternum. That’s because the mitral valve is positioned to face the right shoulder blade.

The small incision surgery is being used at Sacred Heart to treat a common condition called mitral valve prolapse in which a heart valve does not function properly. For most people with this condition, the effect on the heart is minor.  In severe cases, the valve between the two left chambers of the heart does not close smoothly and blood may leak backward. This condition can cause enlargement of the heart and symptoms of heart failure such as shortness of breath, fatigue and buildup of fluid in the body.

“In many cases, mitral valve prolapse is not diagnosed correctly and it is not treated as it should be,” said Dr. Bailey, who was the first surgeon in Northwest Florida to perform the minimally invasive surgery.

During valve surgery, the heart must be stopped and the patient is placed on a heart-lung bypass machine to keep blood circulating. The valve will be repaired or replaced depending on the type of damage that is found by the surgeon. The surgeon uses long instruments to surgically reshape or shrink the valve flaps or add support to the valve by inserting a flexible ring around the rim of the valve.

For more information about heart valve surgery or a cardiac surgeon at Sacred Heart Regional Heart and Vascular Institute in Pensacola, call 850-416-7000.  More information about Sacred Heart’s cardiac services also can be found online at http://www.sacred-heart.org/heartvascular/.

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