Baptist Health System in San Antonio offers a unique minimally-invasive alternative to open heart surgery that has many advantages over traditional heart surgery.
When medication and catheter-based treatments cannot relieve symptoms, surgery remains the accepted treatment for a range of cardiothoracic conditions, including but not limited to mitral valve prolapse, atrial septal defect and coronary artery disease.
Facing either traditional cardiac surgery or open surgery to treat disorders of the organs and tissues in the chest cavity can be a frightening experience. While it may be difficult to focus on next steps, in fact, you may have several choices to make, including which hospital and which surgeon to go to, and which procedure to choose. Learning as much as possible about your surgical options, including minimally invasive alternatives to traditional open surgery may ease some of your concerns.
While surgery is generally the most effective way to treat disorders of the heart, lungs and esophagus, traditional open surgery has a number of inherent drawbacks caused primarily by making a large incision, splitting of the breastbone and spreading the ribs to access the thoracic space. In addition to an 8 to 10” scar down the center of your chest, splitting of the breastbone leads to a lengthy recovery time of eight to twelve weeks as well as a prolonged delay before you will return to normal daily activities.
Fortunately, less invasive options are increasingly available for patients facing cardiothoracic surgery. Many cardiothoracic surgeons are recognizing the benefits of smaller incisions made between the ribs to perform coronary bypass or make repairs to the heart or esophagus under visualization using thoracoscopy – the insertion of a miniaturized video camera between the ribs. But this approach has limitations and is not well suited to more complex cardiac procedures.
Enter the da Vinci® Surgical System, providing surgeons and patients with what may be the most effective, least invasive treatment alternative for even the most complex cardiothoracic procedures such as mitral valve repair. Among the potential benefits of da Vinci® cardiothoracic surgery are a reduced risk of infection, less blood loss and need for blood transfusions, shorter hospital stay, less pain and scarring, faster recovery and a quicker return to normal activities. Additionally, surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System offers the potential for a better clinical outcome.
da Vinci® Mitral Valve Repair
If your doctor recommends surgery to treat mitral valve prolapse, you may be a candidate for da Vinci® Mitral Valve Repair, potentially the most effective least invasive treatment option available.
da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is an alternative to conventional open heart surgery – the traditional way to treat mitral valve disease. da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is performed using the da Vinci Surgical System, enabling your surgeon to operate with unparalleled precision and control through a few small incisions.
da Vinci can help your surgeon repair your valve and help you avoid mitral valve replacement, in which your natural valve tissues are cut away and replaced with an artificial valve. This is important because a repair can provide you with many significant advantages as compared with mitral valve replacement, including no need to take life-long blood thinners, less need for reoperation1,2, reduced risk of surgical complications3, a higher long-term survival rate4,5,6, and improved heart function4. A recent study suggests that the da Vinci System may allow surgeons to complete 50% more repairs than they can when using an open surgical approach.7
In addition to avoiding the pain and trauma of sternotomy and rib spreading, da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair may provide patients with the following benefits over open surgery:
- Less risk of infection
- Less blood loss and need for blood transfusions
- Shorter hospital stay
- Significantly less pain and scarring
- Faster recovery
- Quicker return to normal activities.
- And a potentially better clinical outcome
As with any surgery, these benefits cannot be guaranteed, as surgery is both patient- and procedure-specific. While da Vinci Mitral Valve Repair is considered safe and effective, it may not be appropriate for every individual. Always ask your doctor about all treatment options, as well as their risks and benefits. Watch patients talk about their experiences.
Advantages of Robotic Heart Surgery
Among the benefits of da Vinci cardiothoracic surgery are a reduced risk of infection, less blood loss and need for blood transfusions, shorter hospital stay, less pain and scarring, faster recovery and a quicker return to normal activities. Additionally, surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System offers the potential for a better clinical outcome.
For More Information
Ask your doctor if you might be a candidate for robotic surgery, or call (210) 297-7005 for more information. Spanish-speaking representatives are available 24-hours a day. Patients living in Mexico can call our toll-free international number at 001-877-777-4750. Find a physician trained in using this technique .