Comparative to traditional surgery, minimally invasive techniques can mean less blood loss during and after your procedure as well as shorter hospital stays and reduced pain and scarring afterwards.
Robot-assisted or thoracoscopic surgery allows your surgeon to reach your heart through small incisions between your ribs using long, thin tools equipped with cameras.
Undergoing minimally-invasive heart surgery (MIS) is more expensive than open-heart surgery; however, many health insurance plans cover these procedures.
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Lower Risk of Bleeding or Infection
Comparative to traditional open surgery, minimally invasive procedures tend to produce less blood loss, less pain and have a reduced chance of complications; thus allowing patients to spend fewer days in hospital and recover faster; especially important when caring for chronic health conditions or aged individuals.
Additionally, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) improves patients’ ability to heal more quickly as smaller incisions result in less damage to surrounding tissues, muscles, and nerves – leading to fewer scars and reduced risks of infection. Furthermore, these techniques allow doctors to perform heart surgery on those with complex medical histories who do not qualify as candidates for traditional procedures.
Minimally invasive approaches have become an increasingly common approach to surgery for mitral valve repair or replacement and aortic aneurysm repair, among other procedures. Minithoracotomy or surgical tools inserted through blood vessels in your groin may allow surgeons to make these incisions through small holes in the chest wall instead of opening up your sternum (sternotomy). Furthermore, some patients can undergo endovascular stent-graft repair without opening their sternum (EVAR procedure).
Robotically assisted heart surgery is another minimally invasive option available through UT Southwestern’s surgeons, in which long, thin tools are inserted through one or more incisions in the side of the chest between the ribs to access the heart. Our surgeons offer both these forms of minimally invasive surgery for those in need of heart valve repairs or replacement, coronary artery bypass graft surgery or treatment of atrial fibrillation.
If you’re planning a minimally invasive heart surgery, it’s essential that your surgeon has experience using this approach and is familiar with your condition. In rare instances, open-heart surgery may be required instead; particularly if severe disease exists that needs multiple areas treated.
Before surgery, your physician will conduct an in-depth medical history review and order tests to gain more information on your heart health. If minimally invasive heart surgery isn’t an ideal fit for you, Penn cardiac surgeons offer another procedure known as Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (MIDCAB).
Less Pain
Traditional open heart surgery necessitates incisions through the breastbone (sternum). Minimally invasive heart procedures use smaller incisions on either side of your chest between your ribs to reach your heart – often no larger than a paper clip incision – for access. This reduces scarring and pain after your procedure.
Doctors sometimes employ robotic assistance in heart surgeries. This involves inserting a long tube with a camera called a thoracoscope through small incisions in your chest and other tools with long thin arms for performing surgery; all controlled through a console that displays clear images of your heart.
Minimally invasive heart surgery offers numerous advantages, including faster recovery. Since hospital stays tend to be shorter, you should be back on your feet more quickly and back at work sooner. Plus, less painful procedures won’t restrict movement as much.
If you are considering minimally invasive heart surgery to address a specific condition, your physician will conduct an initial health screening and order tests to ascertain your eligibility for such procedures. If they determine you to be suitable candidates, your doctor will suggest the method that best fits with both your needs and health status.
If you are eligible for minimally invasive heart surgery, your surgeon will discuss recovery time and potential benefits associated with the procedure, including less pain and shorter hospital stays. When choosing a medical center that specializes in minimally invasive surgeries like this one, ensure they have surgeons with extensive training in that particular procedure; that way you know they have all of the skills and experience required for safe and successful procedure if your condition requires traditional open heart surgery instead.
Shorter Hospital Stay
Traditional open heart surgeries typically involve making an 8-10 inch incision to access areas of your heart requiring treatment, while minimally invasive heart surgeries use smaller incisions for faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays.
Minimally invasive techniques allow your doctor to make small incisions on the skin of your chest or abdomen and insert surgical tools between your ribs in order to reach your heart, which they might use to repair or replace your heart valves, treat an enlarged aorta or remove tumors. They may also use catheter placement techniques in order to treat an aortic aneurysm more effectively.
Penn cardiologists specialize in minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft (MIDCAB). With this minimally invasive surgery procedure, surgeons utilize smaller incisions while working around your natural heart rhythm – no heart-lung machine required! MIDCAB is less invasive than traditional CABG procedures and allows faster return to work or hobbies.
Your surgical team will monitor you carefully in the intensive care unit (ICU) for one or two days post-procedure, before moving you into a regular hospital room for several more. Your doctors will discuss proper incision care as well as signs and symptoms to watch out for during your stay; additionally they may give instructions as to when it’s safe for you to get up out of bed and start walking around – which promotes circulation and helps avoid fluid buildup in your lungs.
Though most patients experience minimally invasive surgery with us typically experience shorter hospital stays and quicker recoveries, every case differs. Your cardiac care team will consider factors like your condition, age, medical history and other aspects before determining if you qualify for minimally invasive surgery.
Though we make every attempt to offer minimally invasive surgery options to our patients, occasionally more invasive techniques may be necessary in order to guarantee both safety and quality in surgery. At these times, our surgical team may switch over to open procedures if required.
Fewer Complications
Minimally invasive surgeries tend to have fewer complications than open heart procedures due to smaller incision sites that minimize trauma to surrounding tissues, muscles and nerves during surgery. This results in less blood loss during procedures as well as shorter hospital stays and faster returns to everyday activities after recovery.
Minimally invasive heart surgery has opened up new options for surgical interventions that were once only possible with traditional techniques, enabling surgeons to perform many operations that cannot otherwise be accomplished through regular methods. Surgeons even use this approach without opening the patient’s breastbone through partial sternotomy or right or left minithoracotomy (sternotomy-free). Unfortunately, however, such techniques require advanced skill and knowledge, meaning not all patients qualify as candidates for these less invasive approaches.
So with that in mind, your surgeon will review your options with you and assist in selecting a procedure best suited to your health. He/She will carefully assess your symptoms and medical history to ensure you qualify as an ideal candidate for each procedure.
If you decide on having a minimally invasive heart operation, your physician will outline exactly what to expect before, during, and after the procedure as well as any potential risks involved. He or she may suggest advance directives or other forms of information before beginning this journey.
During surgery, your surgeon will make several small incisions in your chest between the ribs. A tool equipped with a camera allows them to see inside of you; most commonly they will also use a heart-lung bypass machine similar to those found during open heart surgery in order to keep blood moving freely during this process.
Your surgeon may utilize robotic arms depending on the nature and extent of your heart surgery to perform certain maneuvers in and around it. They’ll usually view it on a high-definition 3D video monitor at a console; any hand movements from here translate directly to robotic arms in your chest cavity that move instruments with incredible precision that would not be possible with human hands alone. This enables more precise, delicate moves than possible with traditional surgeries alone.
