I think clawie1 is referring to the procedure, often performed with a robot, whereby they can repair or replace a valve (usually hear of mitral valves being done this way) through one or more small incisions without cutting the sternum. Often the surgeon is able to open a space between the ribs to gain access to the heart.
When I asked my surgeon if this was a possibility for me, he said no because I also needed a bypass procedure. I'm not sure if they can gain access to the part of the heart where the aortic valve is, either. His closing comment to me was that the recovery would be about the same anyway - heart surgery is heart surgery. He might have been being a bit cavalier, as some members here have had minimally invasive valve surgeries and claimed they had less pain during recovery. Could be. During recovery, most of my problems had nothing to do with pain, though, and the sternum healing never gave me any trouble. Probably the luck of the draw.
When I asked my surgeon if this was a possibility for me, he said no because I also needed a bypass procedure. I'm not sure if they can gain access to the part of the heart where the aortic valve is, either. His closing comment to me was that the recovery would be about the same anyway - heart surgery is heart surgery. He might have been being a bit cavalier, as some members here have had minimally invasive valve surgeries and claimed they had less pain during recovery. Could be. During recovery, most of my problems had nothing to do with pain, though, and the sternum healing never gave me any trouble. Probably the luck of the draw.