In many of the activities we do, there is a timepiece that indicates when we should stop. There is also a kind of “timer” for the mitral valve. But it cannot be programmed and in many cases it leads to a degeneration that occurs between the ages of 40 and 50. Except that sometimes at that age we don’t think about the heart if we feel tired or maybe even a not exactly intense effort causes us to “breathe”. This is why it is important to undergo a cardiological examination and an echocardiography, which can reveal whether this valve, essential for cardiac well-being, opens and closes correctly. In those cases, if there is an indication, the cardiac surgeon can transform himself into a “tailor”, and, as happens with the sails of boats, reconstruct the valve flaps in order to prevent the blood from rising from the ventricle towards the atrium, with evident suffering for the heart. How? With less and less invasive interventions, which only involve a small intercostal cut.
Giuseppe Speziale, president of the Mitral Academy, which organizes the “MICS” Congress held in Lecce, is an occasion for the top international experts on the problem to remember when and above all how the scalpel can be of help to those who face problems of this type. . “Today out of 100 patients indicated for mitral valve surgery only 2 are operated on: about half do not get a diagnosis and the others come to recognize the disease very late – explains Speziale, who is also a heart surgeon at GVM Care & Research. it is true that sometimes the valve disorder does not create perceptible symptoms, it is equally undeniable that a simple echocardiography may be enough to detect a possible valve prolapse or insufficiency, in order to intervene in the best possible way to avoid possible suffering for the heart. general, and the mitral in particular, are in fact fundamental for “governing” the “one way systems” that the blood must respect inside the heart, in order to allow it to function properly and prevent situations such as heart failure “.
On the treatment front, the experts who deal with the various issues relating to heart valves in the Salento city recall the importance of the interdisciplinary management of the pathology and of a surgery that has profoundly changed today compared to a few years ago. “This is above all thanks to the advancement of surgery – continues Speziale. Currently, in fact, the repair intervention can be performed minimally and expressly studied for the patient’s characteristics. In this sense, the heart surgeon becomes a sort of” tailor “of precision that, case by case, decides how to operate. All with an average stay of about 10-12 days and above all with great respect for the physique and psyche of the patient. The classic intervention with sternotomy is no longer performed, the valve can be repaired with a simple intercostal cut, which allows access to the heart. Repairing the valve, according to international studies, is better than replacing it because the surgery allows you to live longer and better. “
The important thing, as mentioned, is to arrive early with the diagnosis. And then study a tailor-made treatment, relying on specialized structures, also present in Southern Italy with High Specialty centers, able to respond to the needs of the person. Mitral Academy experts push this point a lot. The “tailor” surgeon must have a high level of experience to be able to choose the most suitable approach, based on the evaluations of what is called “Heart team”. “We must always remember that there are few centers that combine high repair rates and a minimally invasive approach – concludes Speziale. This is a fundamental parameter, to give the right answer to the approximately 250,000 people who in Italy have to face pathological conditions such as insufficiency or prolapse of this valve “.