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How to robotically harvest the internal mammary artery in a skeletonized, clipless fashion using bipolar micro
Tugba Arslan1, Samuel Heuts2,3, Husam H Balkhy4
1Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
None:
In minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery, the integrity of the internal mammary artery graft depends on the minimization of trauma during its harvesting. Moreover, bipolar cauterization of side branches has shown superiority in animal studies. This report highlights the use of bipolar micro forceps in robotic skeletonized internal mammary artery harvesting. Its application offers optimal tissue handling, safe cauterization, minimal thermal spread, and time-efficiency, as instrument exchange is minimized, significantly decreasing harvesting time.
