Strengths and limitations
The advantage of this study compared with previous studies is that we conducted a controlled study of total thoracoscopic AVR, upper mini-sternotomy AVR and conventional AVR, and the conclusions of the study was more reliable than previous single-arm studies and the occurrence of early postoperative adverse events was also analyzed.
This study also has some limitations. Firstly, this study is a retrospective study, and the selection of patients undergoing total thoracoscopic AVR may have undergone operator intervention. Second, the statistical results may be biased due to the insufficient number of total thoracoscopic AVRs. Finally, some of the study subjects are still in the process of follow-up, and we will continue to follow up in future studies.