Minimally-invasive approaches have become increasingly important in cardiac valve surgery. Smaller incisions have become commonplace in many major centers. We reviewed the existing literature and present the current state-of-the-art of minimally-invasive valve operations in this paper.
Schmitto et al. (2010) studied this question. Minimally-invasive cardiac valve surgery utilizing smaller incisions has become an increasingly important and commonplace approach in many major medical centers.