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Irregular Heartbeat Corrected in City's First Minimally Invasive Arrhythmia Surgery

Houston, Texas, November 1, 2004 -- A patient at Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute - Texas Medical Center recently underwent Houston’s first minimally invasive surgery to correct potentially life-threatening atrial fibrillation, one of the most common causes of irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia.

Only a few dozen such surgeries have been performed worldwide, according to Eyal Porat, M.D., director of minimally invasive surgery and the robotics program in the University of Texas Medical School-Houston’s Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery. Dr. Porat and his team are working in the Memorial Hermann Institute for Cardiovascular Research and Robotics Technology to even further refine the minimally invasive procedure using state-of-the-art, surgical robotics.

The traditional surgical procedure for treating atrial fibrillation is highly invasive. It requires cutting through the breastbone and putting the patient on a heart/lung machine.

The much less invasive procedure performed at Memorial Hermann Hospital requires only three small incisions on each side of the patient’s chest. “The fewer incisions you make during surgery and the smaller those incisions, the quicker the patient heals,” said Dr. Porat. “Our first patient treated with this minimally invasive procedure was back to work within a few days. Those who undergo traditional surgery often spend a month or more recuperating.”

Atrial fibrillation can cause blood clots, increase stroke risk three to five fold, and contribute to heart attacks. About 2.2 million Americans experience atrial fibrillation, with some 160,000 new cases diagnosed annually.

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