The cardiac surgeon spoke about the advantages of robotic surgeries

The first steps of robots in medicine were made back in 2000 in the USA, when the Da Vinci system performed gynecological surgery. However, about 15 years ago, this technology came to cardiac surgery. On August 11, the International Day of a Healthy Heart, Roman Komarov, Director of the Sechenov University Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic, told Izvestia about the revolutionary changes in heart surgery thanks to robotic systems.

The Da Vinci robotic system began to be used in the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic about two years ago.

"We started with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and immediately appreciated all the advantages of the robot: greater freedom of movement for the surgeon, ease of chest exposure, incredible visualization and precision," Komarov shared.

For example, when performing CABG, one of the most important points is to take the internal thoracic arteries as a shunt. A high—quality shunt is the key to a high-quality and long life of the patient after surgery. None of the fence methods available today provides the same quality of conduit as a robot.

"Coronary artery bypass grafting, mitral valve surgery, removal of benign heart tumors — all these operations are already available today," the doctor said.

Magnet background: compact device will help detect brain and heart diseases more accurately by ECG and EEG

How will the introduction of a new diagnostic technique into medical practice make the work of doctors easier?

The main advantage of the technology is the rapid recovery of patients. After a traditional sternum-sawing operation, rehabilitation takes months, and after a robotic intervention, a person can go home the very next day, the specialist emphasizes.

There are four types of surgical robots in use in the world today, each with its own characteristics. The future of the field, according to Komarov, may be in remote operations, when a surgeon can perform an intervention thousands of kilometers away from the patient.

"Several successful operations have already been performed when the surgeon and the patient were several thousand kilometers away from each other. This is very important from the point of view of replicating the experience, when any medical institution with a robotic system can invite a top surgeon for surgery," summarizes the cardiac surgeon.

The Sechenov University Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic performs about a thousand operations per year, 70% of which are minimally invasive, one third of which are robotic. The cardiac surgeon drew attention to the fact that two or three robotic surgeries per week are serious indicators for both Russian and global cardiac surgery.

On July 31, Olesya Makhova, head of the Roskachestvo Plant-Based Product Development Competence Center, told Izvestia that increasing the proportion of plant-based foods in the diet has a positive effect on heart health. According to the expert, legumes, especially black beans, are extremely beneficial for the heart due to the content of folic acid, antioxidants and magnesium.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.