Robotic CABG

Robotically-assisted heart surgery is the latest advance in trying to move open heart surgical procedures to the category of minimally invasive surgery - that is, to minimize the extent and the trauma of cardiac surgery as much as possible.

Such endoscopic surgery works well for several types of operations (such as gallbladder removal and knee repairs,) where the part of the body to be operated upon is motionless, and the surgical maneuvers that need to be performed are relatively simple. But moving the surgical instruments manually during endoscopic surgery can be difficult - the length of the instruments is far longer than normal, and the "feel" of these long instruments is non-intuitive to the surgeon. Long instruments also exaggerate normal hand tremors. Thus, endoscopic surgery has achieved only limited success in more complicated operations such as heart surgery, where the heart is beating and the necessary surgical maneuvers tend to be complex.

Robotically-assisted endoscopic heart surgery is aimed at making endoscopic heart operations feasible. With this technology, the surgeon manipulates the surgical instruments with the help of a computer. An endoscope is passed through a tiny incision in the chest wall, and two surgical instruments are passed through additional tiny incisions. The surgeon views the image provided by the endoscope on a computer screen...

How is robotic heart surgery being used ?

Much of the early work with robotically-assisted heart surgery has been with bypass surgery. So far, this technique has been limited to single bypass grafts in the left anterior descending coronary artery (the LAD). The LAD is located on the front of the heart, and therefore is relatively accessible. It is predicted that with advances in technology, multiple grafts with robotic assistance will be possible, at virtually any location on the heart...

What are the advantages of robotic heart surgery ?

The chief advantage of such surgery is that the incisions that are made are tiny, and therefore recovery from surgery is extremely quick. Rapid recovery from cardiac surgery is not only better for the patient, but it is less expensive for society.

What surgeries can be performed using the robotically assisted heart surgery technique ?

At We Care India partner hospitals, the robotically assisted surgical technique can be used in select patients during these heart operations : -

• Mitral valve repair and replacement surgery and reoperations
• Tricuspid valve repair and replacement surgery and reoperations
• Combined mitral and tricuspid valve surgery
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• Catheter ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
• Atrial septal defect (ASD) repair
• Patent foramen ovale (PFO) repair
• Removal of cardiac tumors
• Lead placement

Robotic surgery is used to assist the surgeon during coronary artery bypass surgery.

• Traditionally, bypass surgery involves placing the patient on the heart-lung bypass machine (to circulate oxygenated blood during surgery); creating a 6 to 8 inch incision to visualize the heart; stopping the heart in order to stabilize the blood vessels; and performing the bypass procedure.

• Minimally invasive bypass surgery decreases the size of the incision to about 3-4 inches. Depending on the technique, the surgeon may choose to perform surgery on a "beating heart" or off the heart-lung bypass machine ("off-pump").

• Robot-assisted surgery is used in combination with traditional minimally invasive surgery to perform the bypass surgery through a much smaller incision. The robotic arms are used to open the pericardium (sac that surrounds the heart) and to harvest the mammary artery (in the chest wall) through a very small incision. Then, the surgeon uses the mammary artery to bypass a blocked heart artery through a minimally invasive incision. In most cases, the sternum or breastbone does not need to be opened.

Recovery

Following surgery, all patients are closely monitored in the intensive care unit. Generally you will be awake shortly after surgery and can expect to sit up in bed the night of surgery, sipping fluids. Like most patients, you can move out of bed to a chair or take short walks the next day. Medication will be prescribed, adjusted or discontinued depending on your condition. Patients receive physical rehabilitation while in the hospital and are usually ready to go home a few days after surgery. Although the speed of recovery varies, patients can expect to resume their lifestyle within weeks of their operation.

Please log on to : www.indiahospitaltour.com

Send your query : Get a Quote

We Care Core Values

We have a very simple business model that keeps you as the centre.

Having the industry's most elaborate and exclusive Patient Care and Clinical Coordination teams stationed at each partner hospital, we provide you the smoothest and seamless care ever imagined. With a ratio of one Patient Care Manager to five patients our patient care standards are unmatched across the sub continent.