Doctors at SSM perform heart surgery every day. Now, the SSM Heart Institute is fixing heart through a “mini-incision,” reducing the patients healing time and scars.
“Patients normally resume driving in seven to 10 days and can return to a reasonably full level of activities in three to four weeks,” Dr. Theodoro says. “In addition, we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in both our patients’ post-operative bleeding and post-operative blood requirements.
Traditional heart surgery leaves a 10-inch scar from cracking the breast bone and later reattaching it. Dr. Theodoro’s technique spares the scar and the pain. “In the technique we’ve developed, we gently separate the ribs on the right side of the chest, which spares the sternum (breastbone) and spares the patient much of the post-operative pain.” 
David Theodoro, M.D. and the SSM Heart Institute have performed 85 minimally invasive procedures with excellent success. Dr. Theodoro performs this surgical approach that treats mitral valve prolapse (a condition in which the heart’s left upper and left lower chambers don’t close properly) or patients in need of aortic valve repair or replacement.
The SSM Heart Institute’s minimally invasive valve team is among the most active in the St. Louis area. In less than two years, Dr. Theodoro and the SSM Heart Institute team have performed 85 minimally invasive procedures with excellent success. For more information about minimally invasive heart valve surgery, call the SSM Heart Institute at 314/647-8269.