At the beginning of December, doctors of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and Motol FN performed two robotic heart surgeries in cooperation with the Cardioanaesthesiological Group of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Medicine of the 2nd LF of the UK and FN Motol. The hospital has thus started a robotic heart surgery program and will be the third in the country to offer these operations to its patients.
The first patient was a young man (18 years old), who had been monitored since childhood for an atrial septal defect (congenital heart defect), who was at risk of future complications such as cerebral embolization or right-sided heart failure. The second indicated patient (50 years old) suffered from significant immobility of the mitral (bicuspid) valve due to prolapse of one leaflet. This is a common heart disease that remains without symptoms for a long time and can go unnoticed to an advanced stage, leading to the development of arrhythmias and heart failure. In both patients, treatment with inguinal catheters was not possible.
Operations were performed under general anesthesia using extracorporeal circulation - on a stopped heart. Both patients had a smooth postoperative course without major postoperative complications and were discharged to home care during the following week.
“We performed our own surgery inside the heart compartment, completely using robotic instruments that are controlled remotely by the surgeon. The introduction of these instruments through the patient's chest wall is carried out only through 8 mm punctures, which are hardly noticeable after healing. In addition to these punctures, an approximately 15-25 mm long assistant access is used to insert intracardiac implants. The entire operation is therefore performed without a classic surgical incision, “ explains MUDr. Štěpán Černý, CSc., MBA, one of the most experienced European robotic heart surgeons and head of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the University of Warsaw and the Motol University Hospital.
The new method allows doctors to perform the procedure in a minimally invasive way without opening the chest, this brings benefits both for the patient, who has a significant decrease in pain and is able to mobilize from the first postoperative day, as well as for the doctor, who has a better overview of the operating field and better access especially to the mitral valve.
The performed robotic heart operations completed several months of efforts by the doctors of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and the Motol Faculty of Medicine and the Cardiology Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and the Faculty of Medicine of Motol to further improve the cardiovascular program and started the robotic heart surgery program. The Motol hospital has thus been included among about 30 European centers that actively run this program.
At the same time, it was also established here Center for Congenital Heart Developmental Heart Defects in Adulthood. Care in the framework of this center is provided by the Cardiology Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and FN Motol, the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the 2nd HF of the UK and FN Motol and the Children's Cardiocenter of the 2nd LF of the UK and FN Motol. This collaboration offers patients care that has been difficult to access in the Czech Republic until now.
"We assume that a non-negligible part of the robotic cardiac surgery procedures will be made up of the patients of this center, for whom it will be necessary to surgically solve, for example, defects of the atrial septum. In addition to congenital heart defects, we are focusing on mitral valve operations using this method, and next year we would also like to establish a Center for the Treatment of Valvular Heart Defects, which will offer patients the most modern treatment methods and multidisciplinary cooperation within teams of specialists." adds the headmaster Černý.
The launch of the robotic heart surgery program expands the spectrum of expertise that robotic operations perform at the Motol hospital. The robotic surgery program is currently used by seven clinics here - the Urology Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the UK and Motol University of Applied Sciences, the Surgical Clinic of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine of the University of the Czech Republic and the Motol Faculty of Medicine, III. Department of Surgery 1st Faculty of Medicine of the UK and FN Motol, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2nd LF of the UK and FN Motol, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery 1st LF of the UK and FN Motol and Department of Pediatric Surgery 2nd LF of the UK and FN Motol and Cardiovascular Clinic surgery 2. LF UK and FN Motol.
Press Release: TZ_A new era of the cardiovascular program at the Motol General Hospital - Doctors performed the first two robotic heart surgeries
