Japan's first robot-assisted totally endoscopic mitral valve repair with a novel atrial retractor

This case report presents the first robot-assisted totally endoscopic mitral valve plasty in Japan. A 54-year-old woman was found by echocardiography to have grade III mitral valve regurgitation because of prolapse of the posterior leaflet. Surgical repair was performed using the da Vinci Surgical System. For the totally endoscopic mitral valve repair, a right-sided approach was used through four ports. A transthoracic aortic cross-clamp and novel flexible port access retractor were inserted through a 5-mm skin incision. Quadrangular resection of the posterior leaflet was performed, and an annuloplasty band was placed into the atrium. Resection of the valve segment took 13 min, and band implementation, 45 min. The total pump time was 197 min and the aortic cross-clamp time, 117 min. Postoperative echocardiography confirmed the absence of mitral insufficiency.