Offering patients many benefits, robotic heart surgery can sound too good to be true. If a heart surgery is in your future, you may wonder whether you’re a candidate for this innovative type of surgery.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question! As with any type of surgical procedure, the decision about the type of surgery you need is best made in coordination with your surgeon and the rest of your care team.
To help you make the best possible decision, your medical providers will consider a number of factors, including your overall health, the specific heart health issue you’re facing, and whether you have multiple heart health conditions that need repair.
What types of procedures can be done with robotic heart surgery?
Within the spectrum of robotic heart surgery, there are many different types of heart procedures. At Georgia Heart Institute, specially trained Northeast Georgia Physicians Group cardiothoracic surgeons are able to treat many different heart health issues using robotic surgery, including:
- Aortic valve disease
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial septal defect
- Certain heart tumors
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart Tumors
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Mitral valve disease
- Myocardial bridging
In the past, these conditions would have been treated primarily through surgical procedures that required opening up the chest to access the heart. Today, they can often be treated using a less invasive method that improves recovery time and lessens the risk of complications, letting patients get back to normal life faster.
It might surprise you to learn that this advanced type of procedure is often an option for patients who are older or more frail. That’s the case for two reasons—one, robotic surgery is less invasive in nature, and two, some robotic heart procedures can be performed without stopping the heart.
Who’s a candidate for robotic heart surgery?
As robotic heart surgery continues to evolve and expand, more and more patients will have the option to undergo robotic procedures. But with that said, robotic surgery is not an option in some cases.
When determining whether a robotic surgery is an option in your case, your surgeon will consider which type of procedure is most likely to fix the underlying health issue, result in a positive outcome, and offer the least risk of complications.
While robotic surgery is the answer to that question in many cases, for a small number of patients, it’s not the best path forward.
Those who have complex heart health issues affecting multiple parts of the heart or those who have unique heart anomalies may be better suited for an open heart procedure. In addition, in some cases where a patient has severe vascular disease or has had a previous surgery requiring an incision on the right chest, a robotic procedure may not be an option.
Our ultimate goal is to provide each and every patient with the best possible care and most successful outcome. Robotic surgery may be the path to that outcome, but even when it is not, we’re here to ensure you have access to innovative techniques and exceptional patient care.
Next Steps
When your heart’s at stake, you can depend on the experts at Northeast Georgia Physicians Group Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery and Georgia Heart Institute. The cardiothoracic surgery team is here to guide you to better heart health, during surgery and beyond.