Robotic cardiac surgery, also known as robot-assisted cardiac surgery, is a type of minimally invasive cardiac surgery that uses robotic systems to assist surgeons in performing various cardiac surgical procedures with enhanced precision, dexterity, and control. These robotic systems are operated by trained cardiac surgeons who use a console to control robotic arms and instruments.
Robotic Surgical Systems: The most well-known and widely used robotic surgical system is the da Vinci Surgical System. It consists of a console where the surgeon sits, a patient-side cart with robotic arms and instruments, and a high-definition 3D vision system. The surgeon controls the robotic arms and instruments with precision, translating their hand movements into more refined and stable motions.
Robotic cardiac surgery is minimally invasive, which means that it involves smaller incisions compared to traditional open surgery. These smaller incisions lead to several benefits for patients, including less pain, reduced scarring, shorter hospital stays, and quicker recoveries.
Advantages:
The advantages of robotic cardiac surgery include greater precision and dexterity, 3D visualization, reduced blood loss, lower risk of complications, and quicker recovery times.
Risks:
While robotic cardiac surgery offers many benefits, there are still potential risks and complications, including those related the cardiac surgical procedure itself. Patient outcomes and safety depend on the skill and experience of the surgeon and the surgical team.
It’s important to note that the use of robotic cardiac surgery should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis, and it may not be suitable for all patients or all types of procedures. Dr.Nikhil says, “There is a common misconception that in robotic cardiac surgery, the robot does the surgery. In reality the robot just translates the movements of the surgeon’s hands within the patient’s chest. So the surgeon is able to do the same heart surgery with smaller incisions”.