What is Robotic Heart Surgery? In which diseases is it applied?

Robotic surgery is one of the most advanced technologies offered by modern medicine. It offers a revolutionary approach, especially in the treatment of complex heart diseases. This surgical method is performed using robotic systems to increase the surgeon’s precision and control while allowing patients to recover faster with minimally invasive techniques. It offers significant advantages, especially in the treatment of heart valve diseases, congenital heart anomalies, coronary artery diseases and various heart rhythm disorders. This innovative method has many advantages for both the patient and the surgeon. It also increases the success rate of surgical interventions. Although robotic heart surgery requires advanced technology, when used with the right patient selection and an experienced surgical team, it appears as a method that represents the future in the treatment of heart diseases.

What is Robotic Heart Surgery?

Robotic heart surgery is an advanced surgical method that allows surgeons to perform heart surgeries more precisely, safely and effectively with minimally invasive techniques. This surgical approach overcomes the limitations of the human hand and offers a revolutionary advance in the treatment of heart diseases, thanks to interventions performed with millimetric accuracy and high precision offered by robotic systems. It basically works with a system in which the surgeon sits at the console and directs the robotic arms. This system transfers the surgeon’s natural hand movements to the patient’s heart through robotic arms that repeat them with millimetric precision in the operating field. These robotic arms can reach small and narrow spaces that human hands cannot reach. This allows intervention without damaging the complex structures of the heart. Additionally, robotic systems are equipped with high-resolution 3D imaging technology. This allows the surgeon to see and evaluate the operating field in much more detail.

It can be applied in many areas, from heart valve diseases to coronary artery bypass surgeries, from removing heart tumors to atrial septal defect repairs. This technique allows surgeons to work with less invasive methods during surgery, while allowing patients to experience less blood loss, a lower risk of infection, and a faster recovery process.

In Which Diseases Is Robotic Heart Surgery Used?

It offers a revolutionary approach to the treatment of various heart diseases. It is generally preferred for conditions that can be treated with minimally invasive techniques. This surgical method can be used in many different disorders of the cardiovascular system. Some of the diseases for which robotic heart surgery is most commonly applied are as follows:

Heart Valve Diseases

It involves dysfunction of the heart’s mitral, aortic, tricuspid, and pulmonary valves. In these diseases, the valves do not open (stenosis) or close sufficiently. This prevents blood from pumping effectively from the heart. Robotic surgery is an ideal method to perform these procedures through small incisions in cases where valve repair or replacement is required. Mitral valve repair, in particular, is one of the most common areas of use of robotic surgery.

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease occurs when the vessels feeding the heart become narrowed or blocked. It often leads to serious conditions such as angina (chest pain) or myocardial infarction (heart attack). Robotic surgery is used in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures, allowing narrowed or blocked vessels to be bypassed. This technique is especially preferred in single-vessel disease and offers a less invasive alternative.

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD)

Atrial septal defect (ASD) refers to a congenital opening in the wall (septum) between the two upper chambers of the heart (atria). This gap can cause oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix, increasing the workload of the heart and leading to heart failure in the long term. Robotic surgery allows for minimally invasive repair of such septal defects, allowing patients to recover faster and have less risk of complications.

Heart Tumors

Heart tumors, although rare, are masses that can lead to serious complications. These tumors often require surgical intervention. Robotic surgery offers a minimally invasive approach to this type of surgery, allowing tumors to be removed without damaging the heart structure.

Heart Rhythm Disorders

It is caused by abnormalities in the electrical system of the heart. It causes various rhythm disorders. These conditions are usually treated with a procedure called ablation. Robotic surgery can be used to perform these ablation procedures more precisely and effectively. This method increases the surgeon’s sensitivity and reduces the risk of complications.

Who Can Have Robotic Heart Surgery?

It provides significant advantages for many patients by offering a minimally invasive approach to the treatment of various heart conditions. However, determining whether this surgical method is appropriate for each patient depends on many factors, including the patient’s overall health and the type and severity of heart disease. It is especially suitable for patients with heart conditions that can be treated with minimally invasive techniques. Conditions such as heart valve diseases, atrial septal defects, coronary artery diseases and some heart tumors are areas where robotic surgery is frequently used. However, the severity of the disease may also affect the feasibility of this surgical method. For example, patients with extensive arterial occlusion or multivessel disease may require treatment with more traditional surgical methods.

The patient’s general health status plays a critical role in determining whether he or she is suitable for robotic heart surgery. Advanced age, serious lung diseases, kidney failure or other systemic diseases may increase the risks of surgery. In this case, surgeons may prefer more traditional surgical approaches. However, the minimally invasive nature of robotic surgery may make it an attractive option even for certain high-risk patient groups. Because surgeries performed with smaller incisions can speed up the healing process and reduce post-operative complications.

What are the Advantages of Robotic Heart Surgery?

While large incisions are made in traditional open heart surgery, only a few small incisions are sufficient in robotic surgery. This ensures that the patient is exposed to less trauma during surgery. This is one of the biggest advantages of robotic technique. The advantages of robotic heart surgery can be listed as follows:

• Small incisions and minimally invasive techniques significantly reduce blood loss. This minimizes the need for post-operative blood transfusion.
• Small incisions reduce the risk of infection, helping patients have a faster and safer recovery process in the postoperative period.
• Since robotic surgery causes less tissue damage, the healing process of patients is accelerated. This allows patients to return to their daily lives and work sooner.
• While patients generally stay in the hospital for a few weeks in traditional surgeries, this period can be reduced to a few days after robotic surgery.
• Robotic systems enable surgeons to work with millimetric accuracy. This offers a great advantage, especially in delicate interventions such as heart valve repair.
• It provides surgeons with high-resolution 3D images. In this way, it is possible to see and evaluate the surgical field in detail during surgery, which improves the surgeon’s decision-making process.
• Robotic arms can make subtle and precise movements that human hands cannot. This allows surgeons to more easily reach hard-to-reach areas.
• Small incisions and minimally invasive techniques reduce post-operative pain levels. This allows patients to have a more comfortable recovery process.

In addition, since robotic surgery requires small incisions instead of large incisions, scars are less obvious. This is an important advantage, especially for young patients and those with cosmetic concerns. Additionally, minimally invasive techniques cause less damage to surrounding tissues. This accelerates the post-operative recovery process and improves aesthetic results.