Heart Month: CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Offers Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery for Heart Patients

CHRISTUS Good Shepherd is now offering a minimally invasive method to doing heart valve surgery. Dr. Lisardo Garcia, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd, provides a minimally invasive approach to repair mitral valve problems in the heart, reducing pain and the time required to stay in the hospital.

The mitral valve is between the left heart chambers, specifically the left atrium and left ventricle, and historically has required a significant open chest surgical procedure.

Garcia performed the first procedure at Good Shepherd, sharing that it’s a viable alternative to a total valve replacement.

“Every patient is different, which means we need to have all the options available to us and to them,” Garcia said. “We can now present these options to patients and really work through the best procedures for them to have a full and complete recovery, with hopes of minimizing their pain and getting them back to their lives quickly.”

James Timmons, 69, became the first to receive a minimally invasive mitral valve repair at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd after a pre-operation checkup for knee surgery found a heart murmur, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of mitral regurgitation.

Mitral regurgitation is a condition where the mitral valve does not close tight enough, causing blood to lead backward. According to the National Institute of Health, mitral regurgitation affects more than 175 million people worldwide and more than 5 million in North America.

“They’re going to have to break my chest open, that’s what I thought,” Timmons recalled. “It was quite the opposite. You would never know I had heart surgery outside of a few small scars.”

Traditionally, open-heart surgery is used to repair valves by cutting open the chest and cracking the sternum to access the heart. Newer, less invasive techniques have been developed for valve repair.

This allows for procedures to have smaller incisions, meaning less pain afterwards and shorter hospital stays.

“There are very few places that offer the minimally invasive option to repair the valves,” Dr. Garcia said. “To be able to do that and do it through a less invasive approach is something we are very proud to be able to offer to our community.”