Robot-assisted cardiac surgery

The use of robotics is evolving in cardiac surgery. Robots allow minimally invasive techniques to be applied to ischemic heart and valve disease. Notably, this frees the patient from sternotomy, allowing a quick recovery while preserving the most critical aspects of the surgical procedure. The increasing use of stents for revascularization is significant. For best results to the patient, the graft of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to the left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a mainstay of symptom-free survival. Stenting and robotic LIMA-to-LAD grafting in a one-staged or two-staged approach may be an attractive combined specialty treatment. This would offer best practices to the patient, along with the best technologies available. In this chapter, the most common techniques in cardiac robotic surgery are outlined. Procedural steps are described, and their expanding indications for use discussed. Additionally, a focus on combining technologies for new treatments is considered.