Cost of Robotic or Conventional Open-Chest Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Is Similar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob3XDMIKHu8
The total hospital cost of mitral valve repair surgery is similar whether performed through small port incisions using robotic equipment or via the conventional open-chest method. A Mayo Clinic study of 370 patients found the decrease in cost over time was associated with systems innovation efforts designed to decrease the economic footprint of high-technology cardiac care.

Lead author Rakesh Suri, M.D., D.Phil., a cardiovascular surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, says, “These results reflect an important opportunity to decrease cost and improve quality of U.S. health care when technologically complex procedures are performed by well-trained, high-volume teams capable of leveraging the potential of less invasive approaches for patient benefit.”

The findings will be published online Oct. 1 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 

Read mitral valve news release.

Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Suri are available in the downloads.