Technological advancements continue to astonish us in the ability to provide improvements in health care for our friends and family. The da Vinci robotic system is one of those advancements that has come to Montana, and has numerous applications.

The focus of this discussion is the use of this advanced tool for mitral valve disease. The mitral valve is a complex structure found in your heart that controls blood flow through the left side. Sometimes the mitral valve is abnormal. This can be from birth, or it may become damaged due to infection or more often from age and coronary artery disease. Whatever the cause, an abnormal mitral valve or damaged mitral valve cannot perform appropriately and can force the heart to work harder, leading to further damage and potential complications.

The treatment options vary with the severity of the condition. You may not require any intervention with careful monitoring, or may be placed on prescribed medications. Severe conditions require surgical intervention.

There are two basic types of mitral valve surgery: valve repair or valve replacement. Valve repair allows your surgeon to reconstruct the mitral valve using your own tissue. In valve replacement, the damaged valve is removed and is replaced with an artificial valve.

Traditionally, the procedures would be accomplished by entering the chest with an open surgical incision - which involves spreading the ribs to get to the heart. Today, with the robotic tool available to us, we can perform the surgery with a minimally invasive technique, entering the right chest through small surgical openings. The da Vinci surgical system allows the surgeon's hand movements to be translated into precise movements with micro-instruments during the operation.

For most patients, da Vinci mitral valve repair or replacement has numerous potential benefits over the traditional open-chest surgery. They may include a shorter hospital stay and less pain, scarring, risk of infection and blood loss - and a quicker return to normal activities.

Only select physicians are skilled in using robotic surgery. If you or a loved one is facing mitral valve replacement or repair, discuss the possibilities of using da Vinci with your physician.

Carla Davies is a registered nurse and nurse clinician/surgery, and Leslie Zahn is an open-heart registered nurse and certified surgical technician. Both work at St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center.