Minimally invasive fibrillating heart surgery: a safe and effective approach for mitral valve and surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation.

Single center experience with minimally invasive (right minithoracotomy) fibrillating approach to mitral valve surgery (MVS) and/or atrial fibrillation ablation. Experience (01/2007 - 08/2012) included 292 consecutive patients who underwent MVS (n = 177), surgical ablation (n = 81), or both (n= 34). MV repair rate was 93.4% with 1 operative mortality (0.3%) and no conversions to sternotomy.  Other complications included 1 stroke, 1 transient ischemic attack, and 4 reoperations.  Survival at 1 and 2-years was 98.5% and 97.8%, respectively. The authors reported results at mean follow-up of 27.3 months compared favorably with data reported by Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in 2011.