Mitral Valve Surgery: Current Status and Future Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

The treatment of mitral valve disease remains dynamic. The literature has previously shown the great advantage of mitral valve repair over replacement, especially in degenerative mitral valve disease. Since the introduction of the “French Correction” by Carpentier, which remarks the importance of leaflets’ resection, new concepts in leaflet repair techniques have emerged; these modifications have the final goal of the minimization of leaflet resection, focusing on techniques for leaflet remodeling and neochordae implantation.

Moreover, the surgical approach has changed over years and several different approaches have been proposed to minimize the invasiveness of the standard sternotomy approach, such as ministernotomy and minithoracotomy. The latest innovation, the endoscopic approach (including robotic surgery), has gained support in recent years.

To date, no particular technique has definitively demonstrated superiority relative to another, and the benefits of minimally invasive and robotic mitral valve surgery are still a point of debate.

In this scenario, recently, there has been a rapid adoption and implementation of transcatheter alternatives for mitral valve disease, including transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, transapical neochordal implantation and percutaneous annuloplasty (directly, or indirectly through coronary sinus remodeling). Finally, transcatheter alternatives for mitral valve replacement are emerging.

The aim of the present Research Topic is to give the latest evidence or new findings regarding the different approaches in cases of mitral valve repair (resectional vs non-resectional techniques, sternotomy vs minimally invasive/robotic surgery) or replacement (focusing on different surgical prostheses available); manuscripts within this area of research will be accepted.

Moreover, an analysis of transcatheter alternatives and comparison between the results of surgical or transcatheter techniques is encouraged for submission.

Dr. Antonio Lio
Dr. Marco Russo
Guest Editors

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• mitral valve
• mitral valve repair
• mitral valve replacement
• minimally invasive surgery
• robotic surgery