Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery
The Medical Center is the only facility in the region to have the da Vinci® surgical robotic system. Manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, the surgical robot is the first operative surgical robotic system in the world cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has cleared the system for use in performing many surgical procedures including general laparoscopic surgery, thoracoscopic surgery, laparoscopic radical prostatectomies and thoracoscopically assisted cardiotomy.
“The da Vinci system facilitates minimally invasive surgery and allows for faster patient recovery with less pain, hospitalization, disability and blood loss,” said Edward H. Kincaid, MD, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the Medical Center. The two surgical arenas where the robotic system has been most applicable are the fields of urology and cardiothoracic (CT) surgery. For cardiac procedures, the robotics system has been most useful for mitral valve repairs, which can be performed through ports and small incisions. The smaller incisions used in minimally invasive surgery reduces trauma to the patient resulting in shorter recovery times, fewer complications and reduced hospitalization costs.