Keywords: minimally invasive surgery, mitral valve surgery, preoperative planning, 3D printing

“The Potential of Pre-operative Planning in Cardiothoracic Surgery”

Heart surgeries can be performed by ever-smaller incisions. This development ensures that patients experience fewer complications and can leave the hospital faster. In order to prepare these surgeries as well as possible, various methods of preoperative planning are introduced in this thesis, such as the production of three-dimensional computer reconstructions of the patient's anatomy and 3D prints of heart valves for simulation of the surgery. In this way, the best patients for each procedure can be selected and each surgery can be simulated the day before the actual procedure. This leads to shorter operating times and fewer complications.