Pulmonary function and quality of life after aortic valve replacement through ministernotomy: a prospective randomized study
Abstrakt
In the era of mini-invasive procedures and widespread use of transcatheter approaches, mini-invasive cardiac surgery earns a growing attention. Ministernotomy (or upper partial sternotomy, UHS) [1] is currently the most popular mini-invasive surgical approach to aortic valve replacement worldwide [2, 3].
While it preserves a comparable mortality rate, this approach has been associated with reduced perioperative morbidity and faster rehabilitation nonetheless [4-7]. Preserving the lower half of thoracic cage could lead to better postoperative pulmonary function.
However, the available literature on this topic is controversial [8-10]. Heath-related quality of life (HRQoL) after mini-invasive aortic valve replacement has not been fully evaluated.
The aim of our study was to compare UHS with standard full median sternotomy (FS) in terms of pulmonary functions and HRQoL.