CONGRESS ABSTRACT

Degenerative mitral valve disease is a widespread significant disorder, defined by a spectrum of different lesions. Surgical repair is the gold standard treatment, achieving outstanding results and improving long-term outcomes. Advances in surgical techniques have led to reduce recovery times and postoperative morbidity in mitral valve surgery. Nevertheless, despite these improvements, after surgical procedure, patients may experience a temporary reduction in physical abilities and work capacities, potentially requiring changes in their work employment or reduction in working hours. We investigated patterns of employment status before and after isolated mitral valve surgery focusing on demographic and clinical factors associated with a lower likelihood of returning to workforce within three months after surgery and possible work restrictions.Three-hundred and forty-four patients aged 18-65 years who underwent first-time isolated mitral valve surgery for degenerative mitral valve disease between January 2017 and June 2024, were included. The median age was 56 (50-61) years old; 253 (73.5%) were male. The median operative risk estimated by EuroSCORE II was 0.67 (0.5-0.9). Surgical access was achieved through trans-axillary minithoracotomy in 206 patients (59.9%) and full sternotomy in 138 (40.1%). According to mitral valve disease, repair was performed in 290 patients (84.3%). The overall 30-day mortality was 0%. No postoperative cerebrovascular events occurred. Three-hundred and seven patients (92.5%) return to workforce after mitral valve surgery; in 252 cases (75%), the return to work occurred within three months after discharge. Work related restrictions were implemented in 29.3% of patients (n=96), primarily among workers involved in manual material handling (n=68) and night shift (n=6) respectively. In the univariate analysis, perioperative rehospitalizations was significantly associated with a low likelihood of returning to the workforce (p=0.05). Manual material handling was identified as a predictor of work restrictions (p<0.001). Actively employed and low-risk patients undergoing isolated mitral valve surgery, successfully returned to work, with early resumption and limited need for work restrictions. Manual material handling and perioperative unplanned hospital readmissions were associated with work limitations and delayed return.