Treatment Focus

 Minimally invasive heart valve surgery (aortic valve replacement and mitral valve repair /
replacement without opening of the chest)
 Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG)
 Robot-assisted bypass surgery
 Catheter-based valve implantation
 Aortic aneurysm surgery
 Closure of atrial septum defects
 Pacemaker / ICD implantation and electrode explantation
 Thoracoscopic ablation for atrial fibrillation, and closure of the left atrial appendage

Range of therapeutic services

Cardiac and thoracic vascular surgery

 Bypass surgery
 Surgical aortic valve replacement
 Mitral valve reconstruction or replacement
 Tricuspid valve reconstruction or replacement
 Aortic aneurysm surgery
 Atrial septal defect closure (ASD closure)
 Cardiac arrhythmias/atrial fibrillation ablation
 Biventricular cardiac pacemaker
 Defibrillator implantation
Minimally invasive heart surgery

 Minimally invasive surgical aortic valve replacement

 Surgical mitral valve reconstruction
 Minimally invasive tricuspid reconstruction/replacement
 Bypass surgery
 Minimally invasive atrial septal defect closure (ASD closure)
 Thoracoscopic cardiac arrhythmias/atrial fibrillation ablation (maze operation)
 Thoracoscopic atrial appendage resection/clipping
Catheter-based valve implantation (TAVI, Mitraclip)
Latest surgical techniques: mitral valve reconstruction/replacement

Surgical repair or mitral valve replacement is the second most common heart valve surgery. The
cause of the disease is either degenerative, or a functional or inflammatory change in the structures
of the mitral valve. This leads to insufficiency of the heart valve, which can considerably impede the
heart's pump performance.
Prof. Grünenfelder and his team support the medical conviction that the anatomically correct repair of
the mitral valve is a sustainable, curative therapy for mitral insufficiency. Prof. Grünenfelder has
different surgical procedures at his disposal for this purpose. In most cases, the defective mitral valve
can be reconstructed in a minimally invasively procedure. In this procedure, access to the heart is
through an incision between the ribs. The sternum does not need to be opened.
Recently, the DaVinci robot has been used for these operations at the Hirslanden Heart Clinic. The
DaVinci technology supports very precise mitral valve reconstruction. As an alternative to the
minimally invasive technique, mitral valve reconstruction can also be performed via a median
sternotomy. To treat mitral insufficiency, Prof. Grünenfelder and his team custom choose the method
suitable for the patient.

Catheter-based reconstruction: using the clip procedure (MitraClip)

So-called mitral clipping is a minimally invasive procedure based on the heart catheter. The MitraClip
procedure was introduced specifically for the functional restoration of the mitral valve. This special
clip is an alternative to surgical therapy for high-risk patients and patients with advanced
cardiomyopathy, and has become increasingly important in recent years.

Minimally invasive therapy of atrial fibrillation: maze procedure

Atrial fibrillation is one of the most frequent tachycardic cardiac arrhythmias, which can lead to the
formation of blood clots (thrombi), resulting in vascular occlusion. The minimally invasive treatment of
atrial fibrillation of this kind at the Hirslanden Heart Clinic is unique due to the so-called maze
procedure, in which the atria are divided into very specific segments using a cutting and suture
technique, and so the spread and development of atrial fibrillation is very successfully prevented.

Aortocoronary bypass surgery: using the surgical robot DaVinci

The latest-generation surgical robot DaVinci is chosen at the Hirslanden Clinic for selected heart
operations, such as aorto-coronary bypass surgery, and promises patients smaller surgical access
routes, reduced wound areas and faster recovery.
The robot has four arms that carry up to three instruments next to the camera, which can be inserted
into the body through small incisions and controlled in this way by the surgeon. According to
renowned cardiac surgeons, the flexibility and precision of the robot system that can now be achieved
surpass those of the human hand, and thus offer new opportunities in cardiac surgery