Robotic Surgery – Future Cardiac Applications

“Using the da Vinci Surgical System for coronary artery bypass surgery can eliminate the need for a heart-lung machine, which takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery,” says Dan Winston, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Peachtree Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons and medical director of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Case Management at NGMC. “Also, because the instruments access the heart through small incisions through the ribs, patients don’t need a sternotomy. Traditional bypass surgeries require a sternotomy, in which surgeons make an eight to 10 inch incision, cut through the breastbone and spread the ribs to access the chest cavity and heart.”

Robotic surgery can also be used to repair congenital defects in the heart and for mitral valve repair and replacements, says Dr. Winston.

Like all new technology, robotic surgery is not appropriate for all patients. For more information about future cardiac surgery applications for the da Vinci Surgical System at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, call 770-219-3840.