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Using a new device known as the surgical robot, cardiac surgeons can repair common heart defects by manipulating pencil-sized instruments inserted through small chest openings, according to preliminary research results presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2002.
"We wanted to know if it was possible to operate inside the hearts of these patients without making any incisions," says Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Cardiac Assist Device Program at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. "Not only did we show that the operation is feasible, but we demonstrated it in more than a dozen patients."
Open-heart surgery traditionally requires that surgeons make a foot-long chest incision to cut patients' breastbones in half.
"Although the equipment is costly, this is definitely part of the future," Dr. Michael Argenziano, director of robotic cardiac surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian recently stated. "Patients are going to insist on it despite the expense because it is cosmetically superior and allows for much faster recovery."
During a 12-month study, 15 patients underwent robot-assisted heart surgery to repair an abnormal opening called an atrial-septal defect between the heart's two upper chambers. The average hospital stay was three days, two to four days shorter than for a traditional operation.
The Columbia team is testing the da Vinci Surgical System, manufactured by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., for a variety of cardiac surgical operations. In January 2002, Dr. Argenziano, with Dr. Craig Smith, performed the first robotic-assisted closed-chest coronary artery bypass surgery in the United States. Clinical trials are also underway to assess the system for mitral valve repair.
"We have wonderful surgical cures for heart disease, in that they are very effective and long-lasting," Dr. Oz said. "However, they are also very traumatic. So we are evaluating a technology that might provide us with the same wonderful results without the trauma."
The da Vinci technology is FDA-approved for some chest and abdominal surgeries. To locate a hospital with the robotic surgical system, visit www.intuitivesurgical.com.
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