The latest sophisticated option available to Fountain Valley Hospital patients is minimally invasive heart valve surgery. This new procedure only requires a small incision on the patient's side to close tiny holes in the heart and repair or replace damaged heart valves.

Traditional valve replacement is a highly invasive procedure and, until recently, was the only option. New technology, however, allows surgeons to perform the replacement through a few two-to–three inch incisions in the side of the chest between the ribs. In comparison, traditional surgery means cutting through the patient’s breastbone and using a heart-lung bypass machine, which takes over the heart’s functions during surgery.

MIVS requires an operating room team with specially trained anesthesiologists who are needed when transesophageal echocardiograms are being performed. That sophisticated imaging technique uses a video probe inserted through the patient's esophagus to film a live movie of dynamic changes going on inside of the heart.

As with any minimally invasive procedure, patients experience less bleeding and less pain. Smaller incisions result in smaller scars. Recovery time is faster, which means less time spent in the hospital.