Minimally Invasive Port Access Valve Surgery

This minimally invasive procedure has revolutionized the way in which surgeons repair or replace diseased and dysfunctional heart valves, usually the aortic or mitral valve.

• Aortic Valve: The heart contains four chambers. The aortic valve is located in the lower-left chamber (left ventricle) of the heart and allows the one-way flow of oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle into the aorta, a large vessel through which blood flows to the rest of the body.
• Mitral Valve: The mitral valve separates the left-upper chamber (left atrium) and from the left-lower chamber (left ventricle) of the heart. The mitral valve is formed from two downward-facing flaps and allows blood to flow from the left-upper chamber into the left-lower chamber of the heart.

How Is Port Access Valve Surgery Performed?

Doctors place tubes into the blood vessels of the thigh and neck, threading them through the vessels until they reach the heart.

These tubes deliver drugs to stop the heart and to protect it while the patient is connected to the heart-lung machine, which continues to circulate blood throughout the body.

The surgeon then makes very small incisions called “ports” between the ribs. Using a miniature camera and special instruments inserted through these tiny incisions, the doctor repairs or replaces the valve.

Because port access surgery is minimally invasive, patients recover faster, spend less time in the hospital, and have less pain and scarring.

When Is It Used?

Port access valve surgery is performed on patients with the following conditions:

• Mitral Valve Prolapse: Bulge or deformation in the mitral valve that prevents it from closing properly
• Stenosis: Narrowing or blockage of aortic or mitral heart valve
• Regurgitation: Leakage of blood in the wrong direction due to an improperly closing aortic or mitral valve (heart murmur surgery)

Find a Cardiologist or Heart Specialist

Use our online Find a Doctor tool to find a heart specialist in the San Francisco East Bay area who can determine the best diagnostic and treatment options for your unique needs.

About the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence

At Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, our heart specialists deliver compassionate patient care using leading-edge procedures, to patients living throughout the San Francisco East Bay area. While our cardiac services are located in Berkeley and Oakland, patients come to our heart center from Hayward, Pleasanton, Lafayette, and other East Bay communities as well as from greater California and the United States to seek the best cardiac hospital care available. Our experienced team of top heart and cardiovascular specialists strive to work with each patient to identify the best treatment options for heart and vascular conditions. Whether you need a top heart surgeon (or specialist), a cardiac specialist, a vascular or thoracic surgeon, or one of our best-in-class cardiothoracic specialists - our doctors, nurses and technologists will work with you to strive for the best cardiovascular care for your unique needs. We strive to be the best cardiac hospital not just in the San Francisco East Bay but for every patient who enters our heart center, whether they come from Oakland, Berkeley, or beyond the Bay Area.