Robotic-Assisted Cardiac Surgery

Robotic-assisted cardiac surgery at SilverOak Health offers patients requiring heart surgery the benefits of minimally invasive technology with the full capability of open cardiac surgery — but without the need for a large sternotomy incision. Using the da Vinci Surgical System, our cardiac surgeons operate through small chest ports with a magnified three-dimensional operative view and instrument wristing that enables complex intracardiac repairs with precision comparable or superior to direct surgical visualisation through an open chest.

Procedures performed robotically at SilverOak include mitral valve repair and replacement, tricuspid valve repair, atrial septal defect closure, cardiac tumour resection, and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass using internal mammary artery harvesting. Mitral valve repair — considered the gold standard treatment for degenerative mitral regurgitation — is particularly well suited to robotic assistance, as the magnification and instrument dexterity facilitate the complex leaflet and chordal reconstruction techniques that achieve durable repair.

Outcomes from our robotic cardiac surgery programme demonstrate excellent valve repair rates exceeding 97%, with perioperative mortality and stroke rates consistent with the best published international benchmarks. Compared to conventional sternotomy, robotic patients experience significantly shorter intensive care unit stays, lower blood transfusion rates, reduced wound complications, and substantially faster return to normal activity. Our cardiac surgery team works in close collaboration with interventional cardiologists, anaesthesiologists, and perfusionists who are specifically trained in the robotic cardiac surgery setting, ensuring every aspect of the patient's perioperative journey is optimised.