Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

For most of us the idea of having our cardiologist tell us that we are in need of some form of heart surgery can be very unnerving. In our minds we see a long incision with a big open hole in our chest that includes removing sections of our ribs to access our heart. The result is huge ugly scars, long stays in the hospital and even longer painful recovery times. Thanks to the latest techniques in minimally invasive cardiac surgery these fears may now be a thing of the past. While for many years the only way for cardiothoracic surgeons to perform repairs to your heart, replace defective or worn out valves and perform a variety of bypass surgeries was to open your chest up and access your heart where it sat in your chest cavity.

Thankfully cardiac surgery has improved significantly in the last ten years with the advent of minimally invasive cardiac surgery techniques that no longer require your surgeon to open your chest up so that he can see what he is doing. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery is exactly what its name states, rather than cutting a large opening in your chest to access your heart, the surgeon will make tiny slits in your left side through which all of the work will be done. These slits will leave tiny scars that in women tend to be hidden under the breast and are hardly noticeable on men.

Specialized cameras and tools are passed through the slits and the surgeon completes the repair or replacement by watching what he is doing on a video screen instead of through a gaping hole in your chest. Where once you would have been given a general anesthetic that required long recovery times and left you feeling awful for several hours, minimally invasive cardiac surgery does not require such a deep level of anesthesia as a local anesthetic is used to numb the incision areas. In most cases the patient will wake up free of any pain and be able to be up and walking within no more than 24 hours of the procedure. Instead of being in the hospital for several days or weeks recovering most patients are discharged after 2 or 3 days. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery is ideal for the elderly, especially women with severe osteoporosis as there is no need to cut into their ribs and risk serious complications.

Also because the procedures cause very little in the way of blood loss there is generally no need for a blood transfusion and the associated health risks that can accompany one. Cosmetically the scars are small enough that a woman can wear a very revealing evening gown with no fear of them showing. If you have been told you need cardiac surgery and want to undergo minimally invasive cardiac surgery in Texas you need to contact Dr. Michael N. Wood at the Wood Heart and Vascular Center. With over 20 years of experience you will be placing the health of your heart in the hands of one of the top cardiothoracic surgeons as recognized by his peers from 1999 through 2009.