Francis Wells: The Mitral Conclave Through the Years and How the Field is Evolving

Randolph Martin, MD, and Francis Wells, MD, speak about the state of mitral valve surgery today and the future of the field. Dr. Wells believes dissemination of information through meetings like the Mitral Conclave has spread the awareness of mitral valve repair as the ideal treatment for patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

Dr. Wells considers the focus of leadership to be ensuring that quality outcomes are deliverable for all patients. Training and fellowships in the field of mitral valve repair allow surgeons to establish the experience necessary to operate with reproducible standards. He discusses the process of understanding, interpreting, and having a toolbox of techniques that can be used to create a strategy to repair any valve.

Dr. Wells suggests the future of the field will be led by reference centers as well as possibilities created by the maturing of percutaneous interventions that may someday be able to offer intervention before significant ventricular and atrial changes.

Francis Wells, MA, MS
Consultant Cardiac Surgeon
Papworth Hospital

Randolph P. Martin, MD
Clinical Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

About the AATS Mitral Conclave:
David H. Adams, MD, and Anelechi C. Anyanwu, MD, serve as the Program Directors of the AATS Mitral Conclave – a meeting that Dr. Adams created with the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in 2011. The biennial meeting brings the world’s leading experts together to examine all aspects of mitral valve disease, associated conditions, and treatment. The meeting featured more than 350 presentations, 40 focused breakout or lunch sessions, combined with four main plenary sessions – with over 900 attendees from 52 countries.