Early Postoperative Complications of Robotic-assisted Versus Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery: A Propensity Score–matched Analysis

Objective: The current work was designed to evaluate whether robotic-assisted mitral valve surgery is associated with a different incidence of early postoperative complications compared with the traditional minimally invasive approach. Design: A retrospective monocentric cohort study was conducted. Setting: The study was performed in an academic hospital. Participants: A total of 375 patients who underwent standard thoracoscopic minimally invasive mitral valve surgery and robotic-assisted mitral valve surgery between April 2014 and November 2022 were enrolled. Intervention: None. Measurements and main results: After adjustment using propensity score analysis, 98 patients from each group were identified. Patients who underwent robotic surgery presented a similar rate of early complications to patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery. Nevertheless, they showed shorter intensive care unit and postoperative hospital stays. Finally, patients undergoing robotic-assisted surgery were more frequently discharged home. Conclusions: This study identified a similar incidence of early complications in robotic-assisted mitral valve surgery compared with minimally invasive mitral valve surgery; conversely, patients receiving robotic-assisted surgery were discharged earlier, and more frequently discharged home.