Opening Hours 24/7. 7 days a week
Dr. Krishna Kumar. P N
MBBS, MS, M.Ch (Cardiothoracic Surgery)
Sr. Consultant & HOD -Cardiothoracic Surgery
Sreechand Speciality Hospital, Kannur
Keyhole Heart Surgery
Cardiovascular Surgery has seen revolutionary progress in recent times. Key hole heart surgery or Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (MICS) has undergone a major revolution in the last few years with innovative technologies and improved surgical techniques.
Median sternotomy has been the gold standard in cardiac surgery for many decades. With changing times, there has been a slow but steady movement towards minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
Traditional cardiac surgery has withstood the test of time .However improved cosmesis along with reduced pain and earlier return to full functionality is the key motivator for MICS.
Patients and surgeons have welcomed MICS with major enthusiasm and eagerness because of smaller scar, less pain ,less blood loss, rapid healing (2 weeks) , and reduced hospital stay .
In general surgery, laparoscopy has become the standard of care, however minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) has been slow to develop .With few prospective randomised controlled trials comparing minimal access and standard sternotomy, there remain concerns regarding safety, outcomes and quality in MICS. The surgery is technically more demanding and there is a slow learning curve with typically no standardised training programmes. Higher costs associated with special equipment’s and no demonstrable mortality benefit over traditional cardiac surgery makes it challenging for surgeons to set up minimal invasive setup.
Despite these challenges the practice of ‘minimal access’ cardiac surgery is widespread and appears to be increasing in popularity. As the acceptability of MICS is increasing, more data is available highlighting its safety and efficacy.
This trend continues to evolve, notably with the development of increasingly efficient endoscopic, robotic and transcatheter procedures.
As with all areas of medicine, the patient perspective must be an important consideration. Success of MICS is the end result of a multidisciplinary endeavour and the collective efforts of a supportive team who are ideally trained together.
Majority of heart surgeries like coronary artery bypass grafting (Bypass surgery), aortic valve surgery, mitral valve surgery, tricuspid valve surgery , cardiac tumour resection , implantation of ventricular assist devices and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation can be performed through a variety of key hole approaches with equivalent safety and durability .
The right operation, by the right surgeon, through the right approach, in the right patient, yields the best outcomes.