Minimally Invasive Surgery and Medicine

In the past, heart, lung, and esophageal surgery usually meant a large incision on the patient's chest often including removal of a rib or dividing the breast bone to provide working room for the surgeon's hands and instruments. Recent and remarkable progress in the field of robotics have led to surgical devices such as the daVinci™ which allow a surgeon to perform precise and complex surgical repair without any bone cutting chest incisions. This allows our patients to undergo safe and effective open heart surgery, lung, or esophageal surgery, enjoying the full effects of classic surgical techniques without the large incisions. Our techniques allow our patients to recover faster, take fewer narcotics, and avoid other dangerous drugs such as coumadin. We believe firmly in therapeutic modalities including physical therapy, physical rehabilitation, diet, and other non-pharmacologic methods in an effort to reduce the number of medicines our patients need. Our minimally invasive approach to complex heart surgery accelerates and simplifies recovery.