The Smidt Heart Institute is home to one of the world’s best valvular disease programs and performs more robotic and transcatheter valve repairs than almost any other program in the United States.

Advanced valve disease reduces length and quality of life. The treatment options for patients with severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitation have historically been limited to relatively ineffective medical management or traditional surgery. Cedars-Sinai was among the first programs in the U.S. to recognize the importance of minimally invasive valve therapy, pioneering robotic and transcatheter valve repair. Our deep expertise and track record of technical and clinical innovation enables us to successfully treat many more patients with the most challenging valvular heart disease.

Robotic mitral repair restores normal life expectancy and quality in patients with mitral prolapse and regurgitation. Upward of 95% of mitral valve operations at Cedars-Sinai are performed robotically with a >99% repair rate, complication rate of less than 0.5% and the national Society of Thoracic Surgeons top 3-star rating for patient outcomes. These outstanding outcomes are recognized by the distinction of an American Heart Association Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award

A KEY EVALUATION OF TRANSCATHETER MITRAL VALVE SOLUTIONS

Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has become standard of care for selected very high risk patients with severe primary mitral regurgitation; however, whether this safe and minimally invasive approach matches surgical repair in lower risk patients is unknown.

To determine whether TEER is a good alternative to surgical repair in these lower risk patients, Cedars-Sinai is leading the pivotal National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored randomized clinical trial, the Percutaneous or surgical Repair In Mitral prolapse And Regurgitation in patients aged >65 Years (PRIMARY) trial (NCT 05051033). The trial will randomize 450 patients with primary MR who are candidates for both procedures to surgery or TEER for primary mitral regurgitation. The study will compare long-term safety and effectiveness of the two approaches over five to 10 years of follow-up. PRIMARY will provide pivotal information to inform evidence-based guidance on treatment selection for future patients.

READ MORE

First-in-human experience of promising transcatheter mitral valve therapy

Read More

RELEVANT RECENT PUBLICATIONS

The Price of Freedom from Tricuspid Regurgitation. New England Journal of Medicine; 386:389-390

Durable Robotic Mitral Repair of Degenerative Primary Regurgitation With Long-Term Follow-Up, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. PMID: 34437853