Virtually any patient that is undergoing isolated valve surgery is a candidate for a minimally invasive approach. The small incisions of minimally invasive surgery, .
In these approaches, there is no breaking or removal of ribs. Instead, the space between the ribs is used to gain access to the problematic valve. Although this is a minimally invasive approach, the standard techniques of heart surgery are utilized, i.e. heart lung machine and stopping the heart.