A complex heart surgery, that could be performed before only by open surgery, was performed at the Almazov Centre using the Da Vinci® robot.
«Together with a brilliant team of cardiac surgeons and following the instruction of Evgeny Shlyakhto, Director General of Almazov Centre, to implement the robotic cardiac surgery program, we managed to perform this complex procedure,» said Professor Mikhail Mosoyan, Head of Robotic Surgery Centre.
The successful collaboration was preceded by a long period of preparation and training. For almost a year, the cardiac surgeons learned the nuances of robotic surgery, honed their skills and mastered the intricacies of heart surgery on the Da Vinci robot. In October 2023, a patient was selected for such treatment. He was a 29-year-old man from St. Petersburg with a large myxoma, a benign tumor in the heart. The tumor had to be removed because it was significantly affecting hemodynamics.
Of course, the advantage of these procedures is that they do not require a sternotomy: the surgery is performed through small incisions that allow access to the robotic ports and the assistant's instruments. This allows the patient to return to normal life many times faster than with conventional heart surgery. The procedure was successfully performed by a team of surgeons led by Vadim Grebennik, Head of Cardiovascular Surgery Department, and Mikhail Mosoyan, Head of Robotic Surgery Centre.
The use of robotic technologies in surgery minimizes trauma to the patient's soft tissues and bony skeleton, which reduces the intensity and duration of post-operative pain, blood loss during surgery, significantly reduces the incidence of wound infection, thereby reducing the length of hospital stay and significantly improving the cosmetic outcome.
«Incisions for the robotic ports were made in the intercostal space without disrupting the ribs, and the VAD was connected by peripheral access through the femoral artery and jugular vein. The procedure also required a certain position of the patient on the operating table. The important task of cardiac protection on the main stage was successfully solved. In the near future, we plan to extend the capabilities of robotic surgery to other types of heart surgery,» explained Vadim Grebennik.
The Robotic Surgery Centre was established at Almazov Centre in 2016. During these years, various types of robotic-assisted procedures have been mastered, including general, urologic, gynecologic and thoracic interventions. Thanks to the effective cooperation between the Centre’s cardiology service and the experts at the Robotic Surgery Centre, state-of-the-art equipment and the expertise of the surgical team, Almazov Centre was able to successfully introduce this technology for cardiac surgery.