title: Thoracoscope-assisted Right Vertical Infra-axillary Mini-incision for Cardiac Surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The thoracoscope and minimally invasive techniques have been effectively used in cardiac surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 27 consecutive patients (aged 24.8±17.6 years), who underwent cardiac surgery from January 2012 to July 2013. Six patients were diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis (MS), 17 patients with atrial septal defects (ADSs), and four with ventricular septal defects (VSDs). All the patients underwent thoracoscope-assisted right vertical infra-axillary mini-incision (TARVAI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The procedure was successfully performed in all patients. For the patients with ASDs or VSDs, the times for cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic cross-clamping, operating (skin-to-skin), ventilation, ICU stay, postoperative hospital stay were 63±25 min, 28.1±15.5 min, 167.1±35.7 min, 5.2±2.7 h, 25.3±10.5 h, 8.7±3.6 days, and for the patients with MS, these were 143.3±25.2 min, 88.2±15.4 min, 236.5±48.5 min, 7.3±1.5 h, 36.7±9.1 h, and 13.5±4.4 days, respectively. The median postoperative drainage (total) for the ASD/VSD and MS patients was 136.3±54.5 ml and 203.8±94.4 ml, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our institution, the TARVAI approach is feasible and safe in cardiac surgery. It may be particularly useful in young patients with simple congenital heart disease and mitral valve disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Qiong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Chun
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Tao
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China. Electronic address: aygejianjun@163.com.
authors.forename: Jian-Jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001365:Axilla / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000601:surgery; D061646:Operative Time; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D020708:Thoracoscopes; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Congenital heart diseases; Minimally invasive cardiac surgery; Mitral valve stenosis; Right vertical infra-axillary mini-incision; Thoracoscope