MODENA. Can a “difficult” heart that is inoperable with traditional technologies be cured? The Professor Alberto Albertinidirector of the Cardiac Surgery Unit of theHesperia Hospital in Modena, performed the first robotic cardiac surgery operation in Emilia Romagna on a 76-year-old man, suffering from a complex coronary pathology involving the common trunk of the left coronary artery, with a “porcelain-shaped” aorta; a coronary artery bypass graft whose results were discussed yesterday during the press conference.
The CEO of Hesperia Hospital Alessandro Dall’Ora he recalled that only five structures in all of Italy practice this type of intervention and that the objective is to make this procedure systemic, even practicing it weekly. Anticipating the intentions of the structure, Dall’Ora specified that the end of the renovation work on the intensive care unit is expected by the end of the year; the semi-intensive care department will follow. «In recent years these departments have become the nerve center of all hospitals, but also the most fragile», he concluded.
The advisor of the Ghc Group and president of Hesperia Hospital Guido Dalla Rosa Prati also highlighted the other resources of the structure: «It is a small box, but of great quality: with 150 beds, it can boast an excellent cardiology department, but also a urological robot for microinvasive surgery, together with high qualifications in orthopedics and ophthalmology”. It is therefore no coincidence that the latest innovations in robotic surgery find application here. The operation, carried out with the Da Vinci robotic system in a new dedicated operating room, allows for the limitation of the trauma of the operation, the reduction of post-operative pain and hospitalization times, as well as faster physical recovery and a return to normal functionality and everyday life in a short time. «This technology allows you to operate without cuts, without blood and with minimal infectious risk.», specifies Professor Albertini, his hand behind the machine. Aided by other robotic surgery tools that give the possibility of incising, coagulating or carrying out any other operation with, it must be said, non-human accuracy, he has already performed the operation again and plans to make it a routine operation. «The mobility of the traditional instrument, which is supported, is limited; there is no comparison with this technology, which rotates 360 degrees.”
But the images are clearer than words: a video is shown of a grain of corn being manipulated by the machine’s grippers; the device takes a hair and uses a thread to sew stitches on the corn seed. «At Hesperia Hospital we have achieved excellent results: overall mortality is approximately half that reported nationally. In the last two years the mortality rate for coronary artery bypass grafting has been equal to 0, even if we are waiting for the certification of these data by the region and Agenas”.
Professor Albertini concludes with an eye towards the future: the fields of application of this technology in cardiac surgery are many, for example, the treatment of aortic valve disease is now consolidated and ordinary, but the same cannot be said for the mitral valve, the whose prostheses are not currently available. Inoperable patients are destined for heart failure, but the Epygon prosthesis, developed by an Italian-French startup, seems to be a new promise and Hesperia Hospital, in collaboration with the University of Modena and the Modena Polyclinic has been identified to the use of this technology. «The study will begin shortly and this life-saving innovation will be offered to patients in our region, exclusively in Modena».
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