Dr. Urbain Mees, cardiac surgeon at Jessa Hospital, performed the first cardiac surgery in Limburg 25 years ago. He bundled the most remarkable pioneer stories into a book.
Our department was established in 1992 and offers surgical treatment for all heart diseases except congenital procedures (paediatric cardiac surgery) and heart transplants. Cardiac surgical procedures without opening the chest may sound like science fiction, but they are already a reality thanks to revolutionary advances in cardiac surgical treatment. They are one of our department’s areas of expertise.
During minimally invasive cardiac surgery, surgeons use smaller incisions to reduce trauma to the body on the one hand and accelerate recovery on the other hand. This is described as “keyhole surgery”, “exploratory surgery”, “minimal access surgery” or “port access surgery”. Some of these minimally invasive procedures use a long, thin telescope or thoracoscope connected to a video camera to look inside the chest. We refer to this form of minimal access surgery as a VATS procedure (Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery). During video-assisted cardiac surgery, a few small 1-cm incisions – referred to as ports – are made in the chest between the ribs. The thoracoscope with the camera is inserted through one of the ports and the instruments designed especially for this technique, are inserted through the other ports in order to perform the procedure.
During cardiac VATS procedures the patient is connected to the heart-lung machine through the blood vessels in the groin.
The benefits of minimally invasive surgery:
Our department performs the following procedures with “minimal access”.
Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries is the most common heart condition. CABG is one of the main treatment options for this condition. Read more
There are two major conditions that can affect the aortic valve: Aortic Valve Stenosis (AS), which is a narrowing of the aortic valve, and Aortic Insufficiency also known as Aortic Regurgitation (AR).
The mitral valve controls the blood’s direction and flow through the left heart cavities. When a valve is enlarged and hardened (due to sclerosis), it becomes too narrow (stenosis) and the flow will diminish.
A VATS Lobectomy is a surgical procedure using high-definition camera technology to remove part of the lung through small access points between the ribs.
Atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries is the most common heart disease. CABG is one of the main treatment options for this condition.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. It is an irregular, often rapid heart rhythm caused by disorganised progression of the electrical signals from the atria to the rest of the heart.
Revascularisation restores the blood supply after it has been reduced or lost for some time.
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