The Horizon of Transcatheter Mitral Therapies: How Should the Surgeons Prepare?

Filmed at the 2018 STS Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Tsuyoshi Kaneko of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, moderates a discussion on the future of transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement. Dr Kaneko is joined by Wilson Szeto of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Michael J. Mack of the Baylor Health Care System in Plano, Texas, and Gilbert Tang of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, New York. The panelists discuss trials of transcatheter mitral replacement devices and the changes they envision coming to the field. They encourage surgeons to be involved early and as true partners, highlighting the value of the heart team and the fact that many transcatheter valve therapies were originally pioneered by surgeons. Finally, they emphasize that transcatheter skills need to be integrated into cardiac surgical training.