Minimally Invasive Tricuspid Valve Surgery: An Alternative Surgical Approach in the Era of Transcatheter Interventions

There has been significant growth in minimally invasive valve surgery over the past 2 decades, with novel approaches including video-assisted minithoracotomy, totally endoscopic, and robotic assisted. Outcomes of these techniques suggest that they can improve patient-reported outcomes, enhance mobility, reduce blood loss, and facilitate earlier discharge and return to work. Minimally invasive tricuspid valve surgery now provides surgeons and patients with an alternative option for treating tricuspid valve disease. These operations can be conducted safely and yield favorable outcomes with carefully selected patients. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview of minimally invasive tricuspid valve surgery, including a summary of the current literature on minithoracotomy valve repair or replacement, beating heart, redo, and multiple-valve surgery. Finally, we contextualize how minimally invasive tricuspid valve surgery can play an important role in the era of emerging transcatheter strategies.