Quality of life improvement after robotically assisted coronary artery bypass grafting

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with long rehabilitation periods and slow quality of life (QOL) improvement. Totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) can be performed using robotic technology and remote access perfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether TECAB leads to accelerated QOL improvement as compared to standard CABG.

We included 120 patients who had received robotically assisted CABG, 56 of whom were operated on using standard sternotomy. These patients were compared to 55 patients who underwent the TECAB procedure and to 9 TECAB patients who required conversion to conventional sternotomy. QOL evaluation was performed before the operation and 1, 3 and 6 months after the procedure using the SF-36 health survey and a standardized questionnaire.

All quality of life aspects improved significantly in all study patients. At 3 months, TECAB patients showed significantly better QOL scores related to bodily pain and physical health. Hospital stay and time to restoration of daily activities were significantly shorter. Converted patients experienced similar courses to sternotomy patients in terms of QOL.

TECAB using robotic technology leads to improved physical health, shorter hospital stay and a more rapid restoration of daily activities. Conversion from TECAB to sternotomy does not lead to QOL impairment as compared to primary sternotomy.