Right thoracotomy with central cannulation for valve surgery: 10 years of experience.

Background: The aim of this study is to report the early outcomes of valvular heart surgeries performed via the right thoracotomy approach. While thoracotomy with femoro-femoral bypass is an established method for minimally invasive open-heart surgeries, thoracotomy with conventional cannulation is still being explored. In our center, we conducted 958 valvular heart surgery cases using the right anterolateral thoracotomy approach with central cannulation and data were analyzed.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study based on prospectively collected data from patients who underwent valvular heart surgery at our center spanning from April 2013 to April 2023. The data encompass demographics, procedures, operative techniques, post-operative morbidity, mortality, and a 1-month follow-up.

Results: Our study revealed no procedure-related mortality. No patient required conversion to median sternotomy. Smooth cannulation and satisfactory exposure were achieved in all patients. The study encompassed a wide age range, from 14 to 68 years, with 618 female patients (64.5%) and 340 male patients (35.5%). The average cross-clamp time ranged from 38 to 90 min, the duration of cardio-pulmonary bypass ranged from 45 to 105 min, post-operative extubation ranged from 3 to 8 h, the average drain volume ranged from 100 to 350 ml, and the incision size ranged from 5 to 7 cm.

Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that conventional cannulation via the right antero-lateral thoracotomy approach for valvular heart disease is a viable alternative to reduce the side effects associated with sternotomy and femoral cannulation. This procedure is safe, reproducible, and provides the same level of treatment quality.