Open Access
ARTICLE
Minimally Invasive Congenital Cardiac Surgery: A Large Volume European Experience
Alvise Guariento1,2, Ilias P. Doulamis3, David Blitzer4, Claudia Cattapan2, Massimo A. Padalino2, Vladimiro L. Vida2,*
1 Labatt Family Heart Centre, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5G 1X8, Canada
2 Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, Padua, 35128, Italy
3 Department of Cardiac Surgery, Boston Children’s Hospital, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115, USA
4 Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
* Corresponding Author: Vladimiro L. Vida. Email:
Congenital Heart Disease 2020, 15(3), 127-139. https://doi.org/10.32604/CHD.2020.012197
Received 19 June 2020; Accepted 09 July 2020; Issue published 15 July 2020
Abstract
Background: In an effort to reduce postoperative trauma and achieve
more cosmetic results, minimally invasive approaches to correct congenital heart
anomalies have been recently proposed and increasingly adopted. Here we
describe our experience for the past 23 years.
Methods: Patients who underwent
a surgical procedure between February 1996 and March 2019 with a minimally
invasive approach for the correction of congenital heart disease in our center
were included in this study. A statistical analysis was carried out to compare the
results of the different minimally invasive techniques. A meta-analysis was
conducted to compare our results in patients undergoing atrial septal defect repair
with those from other groups.
Results: There were 1002 patients included. A
midline lower mini-sternotomy was performed in 45% of patients (n = 455), a
right anterior mini-thoracotomy in 36% (n = 356) and a right lateral minithoracotomy in 19% (n = 191). The procedures were atrial septal defect repair (n
= 575, 57%), ventricular septal defect repair (n = 218, 22%), and correction of
atrioventricular defect (n = 82, 8%) or partial anomalous pulmonary venous
return (n = 70, 7%). Post-cardiotomy syndrome was the most frequent
complication (n = 40, 4%). No difference was observed between the approaches
in terms of complications and peri-operative outcomes, and when these were
compared with the results of other centers.
Conclusions: Patients undergoing
surgical repair of congenital heart disease through a minimally invasive approach
have excellent outcomes, regardless of the approach used.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Guariento, A., Doulamis, I. P., Blitzer, D., Cattapan, C., Padalino, M. A. et al. (2020). Minimally Invasive Congenital Cardiac Surgery: A Large Volume European Experience.
Congenital Heart Disease, 15(3), 127–139.