title: Clinical outcomes of robotic mitral valve repair: a single-center experience in Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the inception of robotic mitral valve repair (MV) in 2007 at our institution, it has become an acceptable surgical option with proven efficacy and safety. The objective of this study is to analyze the early and long-term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing robotic MV repair.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 310 patients (aged 48.4±13.7 years, 201 males) undergoing robotic MV repair using the da Vinci system (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) between August 2007 and December 2015 in our institution were evaluated. The preoperative demographics, operative profiles and postoperative outcomes including follow-up echocardiographic results were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Successful MV repair was achieved in 98.4% (n=305) of patients, with no significant residual mitral regurgitation (MR) postoperatively. There were no early postoperative deaths. Early postoperative complications included: stroke (n=3, 1.0%), new onset dialysis (n=1, 0.3%) and reoperation (n=3, 1.0%). During a median follow-up of 55.7 months (inter-quartile range 30.3 to 81.3 months), six (1.9%) patients died, while four patients underwent late reoperation for mitral regurgitation (n=2) or infective endocarditis (n=2). Major event-free survival at five years was 87.6%. Late echocardiographic profiles (>6 months) were obtained in 295 (95.2%) patients. During follow-up, 32 (10.8%) patients developed significant mitral regurgitation (MR > grade 2), while freedom from significant MR at five years was 86.5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Robotic MV repair is a safe procedure with acceptable postoperative results, including low early postoperative morbidity and mortality and acceptable long-term repair durability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ho Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joon Bum
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Mitral valve repair; minimally invasive mitral valve surgery; robotic cardiac surgery