Heart surgeries are not a new thing in the medical field, however, new innovations keep coming, and nothing has made as much of an impact as robotic heart surgery in recent years. Robot-assisted cardiac surgery involves making tiny incisions in the chest to do heart surgery so that the doctors can perform the surgery in a far less intrusive manner than open heart surgery. 

The method is not exactly new, as a matter of fact, in 1998, French surgeon Dr. Carpentier successfully repaired a mitral valve in the first robotically assisted cardiac operation. The first Totally Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass (TECAB) and five more successful mitral valve surgeries were carried out by a Parisian team that same year, and since then, its use has been growing in the treatment of heart failure. However, in the last decade, technological advances have touched a new height, and with it, the efficiency of the robotic heart surgery procedure has also increased. 

Robotic Cardiac Surgery - What is It? 

Robotic heart surgery is the practice of performing extremely precise surgical procedures on the heart with the use of modern robotic tools. Imaging from a high-definition 3D camera that is inserted into the body through a tiny cut is used in this sophisticated technique to guide the procedure. Unlike open-heart surgery, surgeons can now operate on the heart through the space between ribs because of the combination of robotic tools and high-definition images that provide all the information needed for the surgery. 

What’s more, eliminating the need for a standard sternotomy reduces the physical trauma of the patient and significantly speeds up healing while lessening the chances of post-surgery complications! There is also a lower chance of excessive blood loss and post-operative infection with robotic surgery, which is why this procedure is being adopted by many specialists these days. 

Remember, a number of variables, including your heart disease symptoms from the illness, and your general health will determine whether your doctor will opt for this surgery instead of the more traditional method. It's common to have some soreness following the surgery, however, compared to standard surgery, the majority of patients report less postoperative discomfort almost always.  

Contrary to many people’s belief, the robotic system used in robotic cardiac surgery is unable to think for itself, and without the surgeon's supervision, it cannot function. The entire time, the surgeon is in the operating room overseeing the process, and the robotic arm only reacts to the exact hand and finger movements made by your surgeon.

What are the Types of Robotic Heart Surgery? 

These are the most common surgeries where robotic arms are used during the procedure: 

• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) - In order to enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery to the heart, a surgeon performing a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) will reroute blood past the constricted or congested sections of the main arteries.
• Atrial septal defect (ASD) repair - This involves fixing a congenital (existing at birth) cardiac defect where the septum, the wall separating the upper heart chambers, has a hole in it.
• Septal myectomy - A septal myectomy is a technique used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or thickening of the heart muscle, and this surgery is traditionally done as open heart surgery. 
• Heart valve repair and replacement - This includes tricuspid and mitral valve replacement and repair. 
• Maze procedure - This is used for atrial fibrillation (AFib) therapy. 
• Left ventricular (LV) - This surgery is done to install a pacemaker that controls heart rate in cardiac patients. 

The prospect of a robot being involved in such critical surgeries worries a lot of people, but you should be aware that the Robotic Surgical System is actually a device that enables your surgeon to operate the machine with delicate, precise movements at all times. No matter the type of surgery, whether it is a heart valve repair or congestive heart failure treatment, never, ever does the robot make choices or make cuts without receiving instructions. Instead, your surgeon is constantly giving orders to the robot, which can handle the process more precisely than the human hand alone.

Understand the Benefits and Risks of Robotic Heart Surgery

Robotic surgery has a number of benefits, but the single most important one is that the surgeon can see the inside of the body better with the help of 3D images and make better judgments during the procedure. Patients who undergo robotic surgery typically sustain less tissue damage, which speeds up their recuperation, and the risk of infection is also reduced since robotic surgery involves smaller incisions. Because the incisions made during robotic surgery are far smaller than those made during traditional surgery, patients report less discomfort, and the surgery results in minimum blood loss, which means the need for blood transfusions becomes almost nil. 

The high-resolution camera attached to the robotic arm displays real-time 3D high-resolution video of the heart region throughout the procedure, and that gives the surgeon better access to the area. Surgeons may now conduct intricate surgeries that were previously thought to be impossible because of robot-assisted procedures, and this has revolutionized heart surgeries.

Even though patients receive all these benefits, you need to remember that there are always some risks involved during all major surgeries! Bleeding, infection, injury, and the emergence of arrhythmias (unusual heartbeats) are the most common risks that may arise from this procedure, however, compared to open heart surgery, robotic surgery can reduce some of these complications to a great degree.

Direct Advantages of Robotic Heart Surgery 

Less Invasive
 | Smaller incisions from minimally invasive procedures such as robotic heart surgery lead to a quicker recuperation period.
Control and Precision 
 | Compared to conventional techniques, robotic surgery offers more control and precision to the surgeon to perform intricate procedures.

Modern Technology
 | Robotic systems make use of cutting-edge technology, which results in more successful surgeries. 

Short Hospital Stay 
 | Hospital stays are shorter because patients recover more quickly since they don’t have large wounds on their bodies.

Less Pain and Discomfort 
 | Compared to open heart surgery, the discomfort and pain patients feel after robotic heart surgery are much less intense.  

Why is the Use of a Robotic System so Revolutionary? 

• The robot's fingers are extremely flexible, and this enables the doctors to do operations in the body's constricted areas, which are otherwise only accessible through conventional open heart surgery. 
• These computer-controlled surgical robots help with the positioning and handling of the surgical tools, and that’s how the surgeons benefit from improved control, flexibility, and precision.
• Sitting in the operating room, the surgeon operates from the computer console, and they can manipulate the tiny instruments that are fixed on the robotic arms. 
• The devices linked to the robot's arms receive the surgeon's hand, finger, and wrist motions via computer instructions, and maximum control is possible since the replicated motions are exactly the same as the surgeon’s.
• The surgeon can also peer via another robotic arm that has a 3-D camera connected to it, and this helps the surgeon to see an enlarged image of the surgical site. 

Final Remarks 

Robot-assisted surgeries are gaining popularity all over the world, but their effects are most profoundly felt when it comes to critical surgeries such as heart surgery. Even after carefully examining all the heart problems symptoms a patient has and after conducting all the tests, there is still a chance that during the surgery something unexpected might happen, and that is where robot systems are most helpful. 

The flexibility and mobility of a robotic arm and its fingers cannot be matched by a surgeon, no matter their experience level, because it is simply a matter of technology. Someone who needs heart surgery should definitely consider all these benefits and risks we discussed above and then consult with a surgeon who has special expertise in robot-assisted heart surgeries before finalizing their decision.