Mitral valve disease is a serious condition often requiring surgical valve replacement or repair. Mitral valve repair is associated with better patient outcomes, and Stanford surgeons will repair the mitral valve unless replacement is absolutely necessary. Stanford has dedicated research laboratories continually evaluating the best surgical techniques and equipment for mitral valve surgery.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has developed a comprehensive rating system for Mitral Valve Repair & Replacement surgical procedures that allows for comparisons regarding the quality of isolated mitral valve surgery (IsoMV Repair) among hospitals across the country. Only 12-15% of hospitals in the US received the STS "3 Star" rating, which denotes the highest category of quality. In the current analysis of national data covering the period from July 2015 through June 2018, the cardiac surgery performance of Stanford Health Care (SHC) was found to lie in this highest quality tier, thereby receiving an STS "3 Star" rating.
SHC surgeons are experienced in performing minimally invasive mitral valve procedures when indicated for best patient outcomes. Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement surgery (TMVR) and Mitral Valve Repair surgery (MitraClip) are available for the high-risk patient previously determined not a surgical candidate in collaboration with interventional cardiology.