Robotic Heart Surgery

#7

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Back to the nypheart.org Home Page

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is one of the few institutions in the United States that participated in all three pioneering FDA (Food and Drug Administration) clinical trials that explored the use and effectiveness of robotics in cardiac surgery. In fact, NewYork-Presbyterian's surgeons served as lead investigators for two of these trials, studying the use of robotic technology to perform minimally invasive atrial septal defect repair and coronary bypass surgery. The three dimensional visualization and technical precision of robotic assistance has improved surgeons' ability to perform difficult procedures through small incisions with greater accuracy.

The first patients in the United States to receive robotically assisted open-heart surgery and coronary artery bypass surgery were treated at NewYork-Presbyterian. To date, we have performed nearly 200 robotic cardiothoracic operations at our institution, including:

Minimally Invasive and Robotic mitral valve repair
Totally endoscopic atrial fibrillation ablation
Minimally invasive and robitic atrial septal defect (ASD) repair
Totally endoscopic coronary bypass (TECAB) (closed chest coronary artery bypass)
Robotic biventricular pacing for congestive heart failure
Internal mammary artery harvesting for minithoracotomy CABG
Other procedures

Compared to traditional cardiac surgery, which requires an incision through the middle of the sternum (breast bone) and may require a fairly lengthy recuperation, robotic approaches utilize only small incisions in the chest. In our experience, these less traumatic approaches cause less scarring, shorten the hospital stay, and yield a faster recovery time.

Last modified: 12-1-2009