Robot-assisted aortic valve surgery: State of the art and challenges for the future

Robotic cardiac surgery was FDA-approved in 2002 and since then several different procedures have been performed to facilitate a truly minimally invasive approach. The use of robotics in aortic valve surgery, however, is still in its infancy. In this article, we report our clinical experience and chronological development with robot-assisted aortic valve surgery. This includes a description of how robotic assistance was gradually integrated during right mini-thoracotomy aortic valve replacement, a series of cases in which the robot was docked for parts of the procedure, a single case of a totally endoscopic robot-assisted aortic valve replacement with a stentless valve, and three cases of aortic valve papillary fibroelastoma resections. All of these were performed safely with early postoperative recovery and excellent clinical results. Additionally, we review the latest literature describing robot-assisted aortic valve surgery. Finally, we describe current issues, and challenges for robot-assisted aortic valve surgery.