About the Procedure

Each year, approximately 100,000 patients require some form of valve replacement and nearly 60,000 patients undergo mitral valve repair. Dr. Lamelas’ minimally invasive approach for mitral and aortic valve surgery provides several important benefits to patients. Heart valves that cannot be repaired are entirely replaced with prosthetic technology composed of a metal or mechanical valve or using treated tissue such as porcine (pig) valves for implantation.

“By reducing the trauma and pain associated with open-chest surgery, we improve the quality of life for our patients,” Dr. Lamelas continued, “And eliminating the larger incision greatly reduces post-operative discomfort, providing patients and their family, a much shorter recovery process.” Currently, Dr. Lamelas’ patients are managed on a 3-5 day care path versus the traditional 7-10 days required with most open-heart procedures. By fostering a faster recovery, Dr. Lamelas has had patients whom have resumed day-to-day activities and even returned to work in as little as two- weeks. A monumental change from the traditional two-months of recovery for open-heart surgery.

Minimally invasive cardiac surgery also provides dramatically improved cosmetic results. Traditional open-heart procedures require nearly a 10-inch chest scar, whereas Dr. Lamelas’ technique results in a substantially smaller, less visible “keyhole” incision on the side of the chest. For many women, the scar is almost unnoticeable as it may be hidden underneath the breast.

Over the past 3 years, Dr. Lamelas has performed more than 400 minimally invasive of valve replacement and repair cases at Miami area hospitals.