By: Marc Sakwa, M.D., chief of cardiovascular surgery, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute
Thanks to advancements in technology and medication, such as lipid-controlling drugs, significant progress has been made in the treatment of coronary disease. These advances allow patients to avoid the need for heart procedures altogether and that’s a good thing. However, for patients who need a cardiac procedure, it’s important they ask their cardiologist or physician about minimally invasive options.
With surgery, the days of cracking the breastbone open with a large incision are largely behind us. While open-heart surgery is still necessary in certain cases, many heart conditions can be treated using a minimally invasive approach when heart surgery is required.
At MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center, our cardiothoracic surgeons use the least invasive surgical techniques and specialized equipment to perform the same lifesaving procedures while avoiding traditional open-heart surgery. These methods preserve healthy tissue, reduce scarring and blood loss, shorten hospital stays, and lead to faster recovery times.
Minimally invasive heart surgery involves two approaches referred to as thoracotomy or robot-assisted heart surgery. Surgeons make small incisions in the chest and use long specialized instruments to perform the surgery. The surgeon doesn’t cut through the breastbone with one long incision, which is the common approach referred to as a sternotomy. Both approaches require specialized training and are most used to treat heart valve disease—a condition that affects roughly 2.5% of adults in the United States.
Working alongside our community cardiologists, the award-winning MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, team-based approach to the evaluation and treatment of valve conditions ― from common to complex. Each week in our Valve Clinic, a multidisciplinary team ― including cardiologists, interventionalists, surgeons, advanced imaging specialists in cardiology, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, program directors, and fellows ― meets to review patients’ cases, their family history, clinical history, and images of the heart, and works together to establish the most appropriate treatment plan.
In each case, we work to determine which minimally invasive approach will deliver the best outcome and quality of life for each patient. For some elderly patients, catheter-based procedures may be most appropriate. In other cases, minimally invasive cardiac surgery may offer more durable results without further revision surgeries, particularly in a younger person. Regardless of the approach, the goal is to provide every patient with the safest, most effective individualized plan of care possible.
For more information on minimally invasive treatment options, visit memorialcare.org/lbheart.
