Ultra fast track surgery: a rapid deployment aortic valve replacement through a J-ministernotomy

Abstract

Aortic valve surgery has been undergone continuous development over the last years, involving less invasive techniques and the use of new technologies to reduce the traumatic impact of the intervention and extend the operability toward increasingly high-risk patients. Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (AVR) has gradually been recognized as a less traumatic technique compared to median sternotomy, becoming first choice approach in numerous experienced centers. Herein we present our multidisciplinary minimally invasive approach for AVR, involving: (I) reduced chest incision; (II) rapid deployment AVR; (III) minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation system; and (IV) ultra fast track (UFT) anaesthetic management.