Franciscan St. Francis Heart Valve Center offers minimally invasive heart valve surgery to selected patients. Minimally invasive heart valve surgery replaces or repairs heart valves using smaller incisions. This results in less pain for the patient, a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery time. Patients who require additional cardiac procedures, including, coronary artery bypass surgery, elderly patients, patients with very diseased arteries and patients with a very weakly contracting heart will not be suitable for this approach.
Ask the surgeon if this is an option for you.