Which method of mitral valve prolapse surgical treatment is better? Mitral valve repair or heart valve replacement in elderly patients. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. It is a frequent dilemma for a patient and surgeon. Mitral valve repair? Mitral valve replacement? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Mitral valve repair is more natural than mitral valve replacement. Comparison of clinical outcomes favors mitral valve repair. It is better that mitral valve replacement. Leading cardiac surgeon who pioneered heart valve surgery shares his view. Surgeon discusses mitral valve replacement and mitral valve repair choice for patients. Outcome of mitral valve repair in elderly patients. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Results in patients over 70 or even over 80 years of age is very good. Mitral valve repair also can be combined with angioplasty. This is called hybrid surgery. Video interview with leading expert in cardiac surgery. Second opinion confirms that mitral valve prolapse diagnosis is correct and complete. Second opinion helps to choose the best treatment for mitral valve prolapse. Get second opinion on mitral valve prolapse and be confident that your treatment is the best. Angioplasty is possible on coronary artery before mitral valve repair operation on the same day. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Mitral valve repair or replacement. mitral valve repair hybrid coronary revascularization. 1234 More elderly patients over 70 years of age are now being accepted for heart valve surgery. Traditionally surgeons performed mitral valve replacement. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. But now they prefer mitral valve repair. What are the advantages of repair of mitral valve? Is it better than a replacement of mitral valve? 1234 (Cardiac Surgeon, Harvard Medical School). Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Mitral valve repair is much more physiologic. Sometimes surgeons repairs the mitral valve. Mitral valve works as it should. Mitral valve chords are still attached to papillary muscles. Ventricular heart function is better. We also know that in any age group it is true. The long-term survival of patients is better after mitral valve repair than after replacement of mitral valve. That is why we think that mitral valve repair is very good thing to do in the elderly patients. It is especially good for the elderly patients. 1234 Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. More and more patients even after age of 80 years have mitral valve repair. Old patients have excellent clinical results. Surgeons also use minimally invasive heart valve surgery techniques in elderly patients. 1234 Sometimes patients do not have significant coronary artery disease. There is also another way to mitral valve repair. This method treats coronary artery disease also. This is called "hybrid method". We were the first to use this "hybrid heart surgery method" treatment. We started to perform minimally invasive aortic valve surgery. Then a man came to my office. He said. I need a new aortic valve, and I would like to have a minimally invasive aortic valve operation. But I also have a blocked coronary artery. Can we put a stent in my blocked coronary artery first. Can we then replace my aortic valve? I said to this man. "You know what? We can do that." This is how we started to perform hybrid heart surgeries. Sometimes a person has one vessel or two vessel coronary artery disease. We can first put stents in patient's coronary arteries in the morning. Then in the afternoon we can bring the patient to operating room to do minimally invasive aortic valve surgery on the same day. Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, MD. Now many hospitals in the United States build hybrid operating rooms. It includes this hospital. Such hybrid operating rooms allow interventional radiology specialists to perform coronary artery stent placement. Then in the same operating room equipment is changed. Cardiac surgeons can perform minimally invasive heart valve surgery. Hybrid heart surgery is another method to treat patients. They have both coronary artery disease and heart valve problems. Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Mitral valve repair or replacement? Mitral valve repair is more physiologic than heart valve replacement. Hybrid surgery is possible: angioplasty and mitral valve repair. Mitral valve repair or replacement? Which method of mitral valve prolapse surgical treatment should patients prefer? Top cardiac surgeon who pioneered heart valve surgery shares his view on mitral valve replacement or mitral valve repair choice for patients.