Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery – The NYU Approach
At NYU, minimally invasive cardiac surgery has become the standard approach for the majority of our patients. Instead of the standard incision through the sternum (breast bone), a small incision is made on the right or the left side of the patient's chest. The incision length is 3-5 inches and location depends on what surgery is done.
The NYU Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery began research in less invasive forms of heart surgery in 1994 and introduced the Port Access approach for mitral valve surgery in an FDA sponsored trial in 1996. Since that time the use of minimally invasive cardiac surgery has expanded dramatically, and NYU surgeons now have experience in over 4,750 patients using these techniques.
Results have been exceedingly good, with an extremely low operative risk, less bleeding, less risk of infection, and shorter overall recovery. Follow-up studies have shown that minimally invasive mitral valve repair durability is equivalent to that achieved with conventional open heart surgery. Thus, the short term risks are reduced, with equivalent long term results.
The large and extremely favorable NYU experience with minimally invasive cardiac surgery suggests that this form of less traumatic surgery is now preferred for most patients who require heart valve surgery. Patients requiring coronary artery bypass are risk stratified using either conventional surgery, MIDCAB (Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass) or OPCAB ("Off-Pump" Coronary Artery Bypass), which has lowered the overall risk significantly. Patients who undergo minimally invasive cardiac surgery require less blood, have fewer infections and recover more quickly. These technologies are having a dramatic impact on patient care and are improving the overall experience of cardiac surgery patients.
Our History
1994 - Dr. Greg Ribakove, Associate Professor & Vice Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at NYU School of Medicine, and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Bellevue Hospital Center, introduced the revolutionary ‘port-access' procedure to his colleagues at NYU after a sabbatical at Stanford University.
1994-1996 - Drs. Galloway, Grossi, Ribakove, and Colvin develop a clinically applicable minimally invasive system for cardiac surgery with the NYU Research Laboratory.
1996 - Drs. Colvin, Galloway, Ribakove, and Grossi perform the world's first minimally invasive mitral valve repair, accessing the heart via small chest incisions allowing the patient to recover more quickly than traditional open-heart surgery. That same year, Dr. Colvin and his team performed the first minimally invasive triple bypass surgery.
2001 - Drs. Colvin and Galloway announce a major advance in heart valve repair technology with the launch of the C-G Future Band. Today, over 200 surgeons from around the world have now trained at NYU in these advanced surgical techniques for mitral valve repair.
2009 - As of today, NYU surgeons have performed over 4,750 minimally invasive procedures which includes a large percentage of high risk patients.
