More than 2 million robotic surgeries were performed last year. But of those, only a small percentage were cardiac surgeries. The reality is that while robotic cardiac surgery has been available for more than a decade, not many surgeons perform enough cases a year to be considered highly experienced.
Makoto Hashimoto, M.D., one of the world’s most renowned robotic cardiothoracic surgeons, recently joined Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, bringing more options to patients who are told they need heart surgery. Previously director of the Center of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery and Robotic Cardiac Surgery at the Sapporo Cardiovascular Clinic in Japan, Dr. Hashimoto is also professor and director of robotic cardiac surgery at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.
The Institute has long been a pioneer in minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures and is evolving its cardiac surgery program, expanding open-heart, minimally invasive and robotic-assisted technologies, said Tom Nguyen, M.D., FACS, FAC, chief medical executive, director of minimally invasive valve surgery and the Barry T. Katzen Medical Director Endowed Chair. “We are excited to be involved in this era of innovation to bring the best and most advanced care to our patients,” he said.
“For successful outcomes in robotic cardiac surgery, it’s important to have a very experienced team,” said Dr. Hashimoto, who recently shared his robotics expertise with 115 physicians from 17 countries at the Baptist Health International World-Class Medical Care International Symposium. The meeting was also broadcast live to several medical schools in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“With the robotic surgical system we use, the surgeon’s hand movements are seamlessly translated into precise, real-time movement of instruments,” he said. “We have a degree of motion that is better than the human hand, a magnified field of vision and the ability to use many instruments.”
Robotic cardiac procedures performed at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute include:
- Aortic valve replacement
- Mitral and tricuspid valve repair or replacement
- Left atrial appendage closure
- Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery (MIDCAB)
- Hybrid coronary artery revascularization
- MAZE operation (surgery for atrial fibrillation)
- Heart defect repairs and tumor removal
Because robotic heart surgery is performed through several tiny incisions, benefits to the patient include a shorter recovery time, less blood loss, reduced pain and the need for pain medications, a lower chance of infection and a faster return to regular activities.
“Robotic surgery can offer a very fast recovery for patients,” Dr. Hashimoto said. A study of the first 200 robotic cardiac surgeries in one hospital in Japan showed almost no complications. There were no cases of stroke, renal failure or prolonged ventilation, and only one patient needed a re-operation for bleeding. The typical postoperative stay was four days, which since has been reduced to two days for most patients. Patients reported a mean return-to-work of two weeks, with 45 percent of patients returning to work after one week.
As technology improves, even more cardiac procedures will be able to safely be performed robotically, Dr. Hashimoto said. “In the future, we will be looking at telesurgery, where the patient and the surgeon aren’t even in the same facility. This will be a game-changer for those in rural areas or in countries that don’t have the ability to provide cardiac surgery,” he said.
To learn more about Dr. Hashimoto, click here or call 786-596-1230 to refer a patient.
