Robotics in cardiac surgery

Prince and princesses: The current status of robotic surgery in surgical oncology

Robotic surgery has experienced a dramatic increase in utilization across general surgery over the last two decades, including in surgical oncology. Although urologists and gynecologists were the first to show that this technology could be utilized in cancer surgery, the robot is now a powerful tool in the treatment of gastrointestinal, hepato-pancreatico-biliary, colorectal, endocrine, and soft tissue malignancies. While long-term outcomes are still pending, short-term outcomes have showed promise for this technologic advancement of cancer surgery.

Robotic Surgery: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature and Current Trends

Robotic surgery (RS) is an evolution of minimally invasive surgery that combines medical science, robotics, and engineering. The first robots approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were the Da Vinci Surgical System and the ZEUS Robotic Surgical System, which have been improving over time. Through the decades, the equipment applied to RS had undergone a wide transformation as a response to the development of new techniques and facilities for the assembly and implementation of the own. RS has revolutionized the field of urology, enabling surgeons to perform complex procedures with greater precision and accuracy, and many other surgical specialties such as gynecology, general surgery, otolaryngology, cardiothoracic surgery, and neurosurgery. Several benefits, such as a better approach to the surgical site, a three-dimensional image that improves depth perception, and smaller scars, enhance range of motion, allowing the surgeon to conduct more complicated surgical operations, and reduced postoperative complications have made robotic-assisted surgery an increasingly popular approach. However, some points like the cost of surgical procedures, equipment-instrument, and maintenance are important aspects to consider. Machine learning will likely have a role to play in surgical training shortly through "automated performance metrics," where algorithms observe and "learn" individual surgeons' techniques, assess performance, and anticipate surgical outcomes with the potential to individualize surgical training and aid decision-making in real time.

A Single Center Initial Experience with Robotic-Assisted Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (RA-MIDCAB)

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive procedures have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing the recovery times while ensuring optimal results and minimizing complications. Regarding the coronary artery surgical revascularization field, the evolution of techniques and technology is permitting new surgical strategies that are increasingly precise and suitable for each patient. We present an initial single center experience with a case series of patients successfully treated with combined robotic harvesting of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) and minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass graft (MIDCAB) for the anastomosis.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent minimally invasive coronary artery revascularization with the use of two combined techniques at our Institution between January 2021 and October 2022.

RESULTS

A total of 17 patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with the described approach. The median cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cross-clamp times were 83 min (76-115) and 38 min (32-58), respectively. The median intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay were 2 days (1-4) and 8 days (6-11), respectively. The procedure's success was achieved in 100% of patients. The 30-day mortality was 0%.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering all the limitations related to the small sample, the presented results of a hybrid approach for minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) appears to be encouraging and acceptable. The main advantage of this approach is related to the reduction of postoperative pain and pulmonary complications.

Early results of totally endoscopic robotic aortic valve replacement: analysis of 4 cases

Objective

To evaluate the role of totally endoscopic robotic aortic valve replacement in cardiac surgery.

Methods

Four cases of totally robotic aortic valve replacement (AVR) were conducted from December 2016 to July 2018. All operations were completed with the Da Vinci robot Si™ system (intuitive Surgical, Inc. Sunnyvale, C.A, USA). Patients were male, with a mean age of 42.8 ± 6.2 years (range 32–49).

Results

AVR was completed with the Da Vinci Si™ system (intuitive Surgical, Inc. Sunnyvale, CA, USA). There was no mortality and no procedure-related morbidity. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass and mean cross-clamp time was 252 ± 13.6 min and 178.8 ± 17.1 min, respectively. The mean ICU time was 78.8 ± 27.1 h, and the mean hospital stay was 15 ± 3.5 d. During a mean follow-up of 3 years and 6 months, the patients returned to normal function, and no heart murmur was found. Compared with the operation, the body image score of the four patients increased after the operation, and the hospital anxiety and depression scale scores decreased, indicating that the patient's condition had been alleviated to a certain extent.

Conclusion

Totally endoscopic robotic AVR is a feasible and viable choice for patients but requires further improvement for broader use.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13019-022-01899-3.

Safety and Efficacy of Robotic-Assisted PCI

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Robotics has been used in multiple areas of procedural medical intervention. Robotic percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been available since 2004. Its adoption has been slow with initial application in simple cases.

RECENT FINDINGS

With increasing adoption, robotic PCI has been applied to a broader variety of coronary substrates with demonstration of safety and efficacy. Improvements in the robotic console with future generation devices should add to the utility of this platform. Robotic PCI advances the innovations in endovascular space into a different dimension, removing the dependence of the procedure on patient-operator ergonomics and likely operator skill.

Unilateral pulmonary edema associated factors after minimally invasive mitral valve surgery

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In recent years, minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) has been developed and applied to a greater number of pathologies, especially in mitral valve surgeries, as it obtains results comparable to those of conventional techniques while entailing lower surgical trauma and shorter recovery time. MICS requiring one-lung ventilation has been associated to the appearance of unilateral pulmonary edema (UPE), which is a potentially serious complication. The objective is determining the incidence of UPE after mitral MICS and its development associated factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Observational descriptive and single-center study analyzing data from patients undergoing mitral valve MICS (right mini-thoracotomy) consecutively collected between the years 2015 and 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 93 patients were included and 26 presented UPE. The most common complications after mitral valve MICS were atrial fibrillation (38.7%), UPE (28%) and transient and/or definitive second- or third-degree auriculoventricular block (19.4%). The UPE group had longer ICU stay (3.3 ± 8.0 vs. 1.84 ± 2.23 days) and longer total hospitalization length-of-stay (15.5 ± 34.7 vs. 10.6 ± 7.5 days). The mortality in the UPE group was 3.9%. A significant association was found between the following collected variables and the development of postoperative UPE: preoperative baseline pulse oximetry, preoperative use of ACE inhibitors, postoperative atrial fibrillation and 24 first-hours cumulative chest tube drainage volume on the first 24 h.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of UPE is high and its appearance is associated with a longer ICU and total length of stay. More studies are required to understand its pathophysiology and apply measures to help decreasing its appearance.

In search of optimal cardioplegia for minimally invasive valve surgery

Cardioplegic solutions are used in cardiac surgery to achieve controlled cardiac arrest during operations, making surgery safer. Cardioplegia can either be blood or crystalloid based, with perceived pros and cons of each type. Whilst it is known that cardioplegia causes cardiac arrest, there is debate over which cardioplegic solution provides the highest degree of myocardial protection during arrest. Myocardial damage is measured post-operatively by biomarkers such as serum TnT, TnI or CK-MB. It is known that the outcomes of minimally invasive valve surgery are comparable to full sternotomy valve operations. Despite there being a wide diversity in use of different cardioplegic solutions across the world, this comprehensive literature review found no superiority of one cardioplegic solution over the other for myocardial protection during minimally invasive valve procedures.

'Is totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting compared with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting associated with superior outcomes in patients with isolated left anterior descending disease?'

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was ‘Is totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting compared with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting associated with superior outcomes in patients with isolated left anterior descending disease?’ Altogether more than 118 papers were found using the reported search, of which 4 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question, which included 2 prospective cohort studies and 2 retrospective observational studies. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers were tabulated. There is a significant variation within the MIDCAB and TECAB techniques amongst the studies-including the experience of the surgeon, use of cardiopulmonary bypass, patient selection, and target vessel grafting strategies-highlighting the complexity of comparing these two minimally invasive procedures. Operative times were comparable across all studies, with TECAB patients having higher transfusions rates and conversion rates to either a median sternotomy or MIDCAB procedure. Overall safety was comparable between the two cohort groups, with similar length of stay and 30-day mortality. However, the TECAB group were more likely to require re-operation for bleeding and reintervention for early revascularisation with greater total hospital costs than the MIDCAB patients. Based on the available evidence, we conclude that TECAB is associated with a higher rate of transfusions, conversion to median sternotomy or MIDCAB, early graft failure and reintervention compared to the MIDCAB approach. We advise caution in adopting a TECAB approach.

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Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting remains the gold standard for complex multi-vessel disease.

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Demand for minimally invasive and robotic procedures is increasing.

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Controversy remains regarding the optimal method for robotically assisted coronary grafting.

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Overall safety is comparable between TECAB and MIDCAB.

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TECAB is associated with a higher rate of early graft failure and reintervention.

Systematic review of the introduction and evaluation of magnetic augmentation of the lower oesophageal sphincter for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease

BACKGROUND

Magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) is reported to be an innovative alternative to antireflux surgery for patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Although used in practice, little is known about how it has been evaluated. This study aimed to systematically summarize and appraise the reporting of MSA and its introduction into clinical practice, in the context of guidelines (such as IDEAL) for evaluating innovative surgical devices.

METHODS

Systematic searches were used to identify all published studies reporting MSA insertion. Data collected included patient selection, governance arrangements, surgeon expertise, technique description and outcome reporting.

RESULTS

Searches identified 587 abstracts; 39 full-text papers were included (1 RCT 5 cohort, 3 case-control, 25 case series, 5 case reports). Twenty-one followed US Food and Drug Administration eligibility criteria for MSA insertion. Twenty-six documented that ethical approval was obtained. Two reported that participating surgeons received training in MSA; 18 provided information about how MSA insertion was performed, although techniques varied between studies. Follow-up ranged from 4 weeks to 5 years; in 14 studies, it was less than 1 year.

CONCLUSION

Most studies on MSA lacked information about patient selection, governance, expertise, techniques and outcomes, or varied between studies. Currently, MSA is being used despite a lack of robust evidence for its effectiveness.