An alternative to open heart surgery

16 June 2026 - Specialist heart surgeons at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have used an endoscope to perform an aortic valve replacement (AVR) for the first time.

AVR is surgery to replace a diseased or narrowed heart valve.

The use of an endoscope offers an alternative to invasive open-heart surgery, where the breastbone is divided. During the procedure, a small incision is made on the right side of the chest between the ribs, allowing surgeons to use an endoscope — a thin flexible tube with a camera — to access the heart and perform the replacement.

Mr Habib Khaan, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at King’s, explained: “This technique is used in very few NHS centres in the UK, particularly using an endoscope. Typically, we would offer traditional open-heart surgery to treat patients with heart valve disease. However, in this case our patient was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and we needed to find a way to treat her heart valve disease without affecting her recovery and healing from a recent mastectomy, at the same time avoiding incision on the breastbone.

“As the patient urgently needed surgery to replace her aortic valve, we used an endoscopic assisted minimally invasive approach through her right chest, avoiding a large chest opening. This type of surgery has the advantages of quicker recovery times, less discomfort for patients, and a lower risk of infection — all while achieving the same excellent outcomes.

“We were able to remove her breathing tube (endotracheal tube) safely immediately after surgery, and she continued to make an excellent recovery, allowing her to be discharged home just three days later to continue her recuperation.”

Mr Khan added: “This type of endoscopic assisted surgery could be transformative for patients with heart valve disease, with the potential for a much smoother recovery. We hope this will be the first of many more patients to benefit from this innovative procedure at King’s.”