Health-Related Quality of Life following Minimally Invasive Totally Thoracoscopic Mitral Valve Surgery

Background In order to compare the impact of two different approaches to mitral valve surgery on health-related quality of life, we conducted a retrospective study comparing minimally invasive totally thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery with median sternotomy mitral valve surgery. Methods A total of 163 patients who underwent mitral valve surgery at our institution between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019 were enrolled. In 163 patients, mitral valve surgery was performed using either totally thoracoscopic approach (TA n = 78) or median sternotomy approach (SA n = 85). We used the Scar Cosmesis Assessment and Rating Scale and the Numerical Rating Scale to measure the pain intensity and the aesthetic appearance of surgical incision and used the MOS SF-36 to assess the HRQoL. Results The two groups of patients were similar in terms of demographic, echocardiography data and postoperative complications. The pain intensity and aesthetic appearance of the totally thoracoscopic approach were significantly better than that of the median sternotomy approach. Significant differences in the subscale of the SF-36 were found between the two groups. Conclusions When compared to the median sternotomy mitral valve surgery, totally thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery has an equally good outcome, while improving aesthetic appearance and reducing pain intensity. Our study suggested that totally thoracoscopic approach is superior to median sternotomy approach in terms of pain intensity, aesthetic appearance and HRQoL.