Minimally invasive cardiac surgery and video-assisted thoracicscopy surgery (VATS) is beneficial to the patient. Like during open-heart surgery the chest need not be opened, the breast bone need not be divided and use of heart-lung machine can be avoided and the patient experiences little pain. Only small scar is visible, the patient need not stay for long in the hospital, low risk of blood loss and hence not much blood has to be transfused. Infection risk is low and the patient can get back to his or her normal routine in about one to four weeks.
The advantages are explained by senior cardiothoracic surgeon Karunakara Padhy of Care Hospitals. This procedure is being done in the cases of coronary bypass surgeries and heart valve procedures and the common surgeries. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery is more difficult to perform than the standard open-heart procedure but the benefits are more for the patients who are eligible to undergo this kind of surgery.
Forty to fifty per cent cardiac surgeries can be done this way but only one procedure can be performed at a time. Some times the surgeon may have to switch to the conventional procedure.
Anaesthetists S. Annoradha and J.J. David explained how anaesthesia is administered to the patient as the key-hole surgery is done, by making an incision of just 6 cm length. The invasive cardiac surgery and VATS is being performed on many patients now, Dr. Padhy said.
