Q
What is the difference between minimally invasive and open heart surgery?
A
Depending on your heart condition, we might recommend minimally invasive surgery. With this technique, we do not need to open your chest. Instead, we make tiny incisions— between your ribs, in your groin, or in your wrist— to get to your heart.
UPMC is home to nationally recognized experts in robotic cardiac surgery. Robotic-assisted heart surgery is a minimally invasive approach that provides many benefits to the patient, including:
• A shorter hospital stay.
• Faster recovery.
• Less surgical trauma and minimal scarring.
• Reduced risk of infection.
Following robotic heart surgery, patients typically recover in three to four weeks compared to a three-month recovery from open heart surgery.
We might decide that open heart surgery is a better choice for you. During open heart surgery, we make a six- to eight-inch incision through your sternum( breastbone) to access your heart. Open heart surgery is often a more effective option for:
• Complex heart operations.
• Heart bypasses.
• Multiple heart valve or aneurysm repair or replacement.
• Tumor, mass, or tissue removal.
CARDIAC SURGERY EXPERTISE CLOSE TO HOME
The expertise of the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute is available to you close to home. We offer education, consultations, and evaluations for heart surgery at our Cardiac Surgery Clinic located at UPMC East in Monroeville. To learn more, visit UPMC. com / Heart.