Robotic Surgery

At the Emory Heart & Vascular Center, we know how concerning it is when you or your loved one needs to undergo heart surgery. We're here to provide you with progressive robotic surgery options that are changing the nature of heart surgery, making it safer, more successful and with shorter recovery time.

• The Emory Robotic Cardiac Surgery team was one of the first cardiac surgery teams in the United States to pioneer the Intuitive da Vinci® Robotic System.
• Since performing Georgia's first robotic heart surgery in 2002, we have gone on to complete over 2,000 robotically-assisted mitral valve surgeries, more than anyone else in the world.
• Our team trains surgical teams at Emory and around the world in robotic heart surgery, providing you with exceptional access to the most progressive surgical options available.

Robotic heart surgery allows surgeons to operate on your heart through tiny openings in the chest, eliminating the need to cut the breastbone and spread the ribs. All four chambers of the heart can be accessed from the right side of the chest using the da Vinci® Robotic System. Only small holes (less than ½ inch) are necessary, with no disturbance of the chest skeleton, making this surgery minimally invasive. 

Since the chest is entered through five tiny holes, you can resume normal activities more quickly than if the operation is done by opening the chest. Robotic heart surgery can also provide you with the following benefits:

• Quicker return to a normal lifestyle
• Shorter recovery time in the hospital
• Fewer blood transfusions
• Potentially lower rates of stroke other complications
• Less pain after surgery and reduced need for narcotics
• Fewer restrictions after surgery
• Lower risk of infection

Additionally, robotic heart surgery has increased valve repair success rates to over 90%, due to surgeons' improved visualization of the valves through the robot and the ability to perform complex repair techniques. This increased repair rate reduces the need for valve replacement, providing a better outcome for our patients. 

The following procedures can also be performed robotically:

• Repair or replace the tricuspid valve
• Repair holes in the heart
• Close the left atrial appendage
• Remove benign tumors from the heart
• Perform atrial fibrillation ablation procedures
• Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery