Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery to maximally benefit patients—what is the key to success today and tomorrow?

Mitral valve surgery remains the standard of care for the vast majority of patients with mitral valve pathology. Surgical mitral valve repair of primary degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR) in particular has excellent long-term outcomes with very low operative mortality and morbidity in the hands of experienced cardiac surgeons (1,2).