Noninvasive Heart Surgery
There is a lot of discussion in the heart valve surgery community about noninvasive heart surgery. Given the publicity around robotic surgery devices (like the Da Vinci Surgical System) and transcatheter valve replacements, I must admit… I’m a little jealous.
Okay. I’m not that jealous. But, it would be nice to have a three-inch scar versus a nine-inch scar. Even though my “zipper” is barely visible, there’s more to it than a simple scar. (Click here to see my heart valve surgery pictures.)
Noninvasive heart surgery procedures have a number of advantages for heart valve repair and heart valve replacement of valves including the aortic, mitral, pulmonary and tricuspid.
Such benefits include:
- Noninvasive heart surgery has less risk.
- Noninvasive heart surgery has a faster recovery time.
- Noninvasive surgery is not as traumatic to the body.
If you are interested in seeing a minimally invasive heart valve repair using robotics, please click the image below.
This short heart surgery video illustrates many of the elements referenced above. The surgeon in this video performed the Ross Procedure on me at USC Medical Center in 2005. His name is Vaughn Starnes.
Keep on tickin,
Adam
Adam Pick is the author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. This special book was designed to minimize stress and enhance the patient’s recovery. To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.
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