BOSTON – Individual surgeon case volume is a significant factor in degenerative mitral valve repair rates and overall patient survival, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
The analysis, which reviewed the outcomes of 38,128 adult patients, found that higher surgeon volume of mitral cases is associated with better degenerative mitral repair rates and higher survival. In this video, Ralph Damiano Jr., MD, of Washington University, St. Louis, discusses the threshold of mitral cases that led to better repair rates and how further cardiac surgical subspecialization could improve outcomes in patients with degenerative mitral disease.
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