News

New minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery at North Shore Private Hospital

Oct 08, 2018

Dr Levi Bassin, cardiothoracic surgeon at North Shore Private Hospital is using a new minimally invasive technique to treat cardiac patients at the hospital. The new technique (“mini mitral valve”) is a new development in the approach for mitral valve surgery, and is less invasive when compared to traditional open heart surgery.

The mitral valve is the “inflow valve” for the left side of the heart. Occasionally the mitral valve is abnormal from birth, but more often it degenerates with age or as a result of cardiac disease. It needs repair to treat stenosis (narrowing) or regurgitation (leaking) of the valve.

Mr Brian McDougall was the first patient to undergo this minimally invasive mitral valve repair at North Shore Private Hospital. The operation was performed through a 5 cm incision in the right chest as opposed to the usual 15-20 cm incision in the midline with splitting of the sternum (breastbone) with traditional ‘open heart’ surgery. The valve repair was very successful meaning that this patient does not require long term blood thinners associated with artificial heart valves.

Minimally invasive valve surgery is possible with the aid of special instruments and cameras to navigate inside the heart. Many patients that require a valve operation whether it is aortic valve replacement or mitral valve surgery may be candidates for minimally invasive heart surgery. This less invasive surgery causes less trauma and results in a more rapid recovery compared with traditional open heart surgery.

Dr Levi Bassin (cardiothoracic surgeon) performed the minimally invasive procedure on Brian McDougall

Contact: Dr Levi Bassin, cardiothoracic surgeon, Ph: (02)9449-1559