Background: The aim of this study was to describe the experience with minimally invasive cardiovascular surgery (MICS) by evaluating the costs and clinical outcomes in a university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia. As a comparison, a series of patients submitted to open heart surgery (OHS) was used. Methods: Through a retrospective analysis of clinical records, from January 2014 to September 2018, data from 56 patients submitted to either MICS or OHS were collected. A comparison between these two types of approaches evaluating relevant clinical outcomes and demographic differences was performed. Direct costs for each hospitalization were analyzed and discriminated by categories. Costs are presented in 2018 US dollars (USD). Results: Thirty-four patients were included in the MICS group, with ages ranging from 17 to 63 years; 22 patients were included in the OHS group, with ages from one to 74. The mean length of stay was 6.9 days (SD 3.4) in the MICS group and 10.3 (SD 6.5) in the OHS (p = 0.046). The average cost for MICS was $8 345 ± 2 522 and for OHS was $9 422 ± 3 090 (p=0.08). Higher costsin procedures in MICS where compensated by lower costs in hospitalstay, laboratory tests, medications and transfusions. Conclusion: MICS can be performed safely in a middle-income country like Colombia, at a fraction of the costs incurred in developed countries, while improving hospital bed turnover rate.