What Is Robotic Heart Surgery?

Robot-assisted heart surgery is the latest advancement in minimally invasive heart surgery; it combines cutting edge technology with expert surgeons to improve the patient’s overall experience. Robotic heart surgery enables patients to recover and return to normal activities much faster and with fewer side effects than those of traditional operations that require a large incision.

Nearly all minimally invasive heart surgeries are performed by putting an endoscope (a small tube with an advanced optical system) into a small incision in the body. Surgical instruments are then either inserted in the endoscope or through an additional incision. With the endoscope’s image displayed on outer monitors, the surgeon can then manipulate the surgical instruments needed to complete the operation.

Robot-assisted surgery provides the benefits of minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgery, but with important new advantages as a result of the latest computerized robotic technology. These improvements include:

• advanced optics that provide 10-times magnified, three-dimensional images of the operating area;
• robotic arms that eliminate even the slightest human hand tremors;
• instruments with "wrists" that pivot 540 degrees, for greater maneuverability than is possible with human hands or laparoscopic instruments.