What is Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery?
Cardiac Surgical procedures are still among the most "invasive" and the most
expensive of therapeutic techniques in modern medicine. However, within the
last 5 years, cardiac surgeons and patients alike have become reenergized by
the development of minimally invasive heart surgery. Attempts have been made
to reduce surgical "trauma" and procedure related pain and its attendant
morbidity. The new approach has radically changed certain surgical
procedures such as revascularization of the left anterior coronary artery
through endoscopic video-enhanced operations, closure of the atrial septal
defect and patent ductus arteriosus, and repair of the mitral valve using
robotics.
In the current era of minimally invasive cardiac surgery the debate
continues as to what is more invasive to the patient: large sternal
incisions or the surgical "trauma" attendant to the procedure. The
cardiopulmonary bypass machine is a necessary entity in operations that
involve entering the chambers of the heart. Although it may not be
absolutely necessary for coronary bypass surgery, every effort is being made
to attenuate its untoward complications when it is used for valvular and
aortic surgery. The heart-lung machine will surely stay aroung for a long
time. Although it has been "tamed" somewhat in port access surgery,
significant design changes will reduce its adverse effects and circuit
related complications. New design and engineering breakthroughs for the
cardiopulmonary bypass circuit is also of interest to surgeons specializing
in minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
This section devoted to minimally invasive cardiac surgery will explore the
nascent and exciting field of new technologies that are being developed to
make these operations truly "less invasive" for the patient. This will
hopefully translate to quicker recovery and return to full functional
capacity.
