What is heart surgery with a small incision (minimally invasive)?
The small incision, that is, the minimally invasive surgical method, which allows the difficult process of heart surgery to pass much more quickly and painlessly, is performed with smaller incisions instead of cutting the chest (sternum) bone by 20-25 cm.

In which diseases is heart surgery with small incision (minimally invasive) used?
Heart surgeries can be performed with small incisions in the repair and replacement of heart valve surgeries, when coronary bypass surgery is required, when some heart holes are closed, and when intracardiac tumors need to be removed.

How is heart surgery performed with a small incision (minimally invasive)?
Surgeries are performed with incisions made under the right or left breast, under the collarbone or by opening the breastbone very slightly. In open heart surgeries, the sternum is completely opened, but now, thanks to technological developments in heart surgery, bypass surgeries and valve surgeries can be performed with small incisions.

What are the advantages of heart surgery with a small incision?
Since the bone in the anterior chest wall is not cut in these surgeries, which are performed with a very small incision compared to open heart surgeries, the integrity of the chest wall is preserved. This causes respiratory system problems, which are the most common problems after surgery, to be seen much less frequently. The amount of bleeding during and after the operation is very low, and the patient is usually discharged without the need for blood transfusion. With the acceleration of recovery, the length of stay in the intensive care unit is reduced to 1 day and the length of stay in the service is reduced to 3 or 4 days. In classical open surgeries, the time of union of the bone takes about 2 months. During this period, the patient should not turn left or right while lying down, should not raise their arms above the head level and should not carry any weight. In surgeries performed with small incisions, the patient can lie down as he wishes from the moment the drains are removed, and can easily perform any pre-operative action such as driving, swimming, and carrying loads as soon as he feels well. Surgery in which the sternum is opened is also very distressing from a cosmetic point of view. Especially young patients have cosmetic and psychological problems; This results in a prolongation of the healing process. The length of the incision made with the minimally invasive method varies between 6-7 cm and no surgical scar is seen unless the arms are raised. In addition, it is much more beneficial to perform surgery with a small incision method under the breast, especially in women who have a bone resorption disease called osteoporosis. Because the bone of the sternum, called the sternum, is very fragile in osteoporosis patients and discomfort may occur after open surgery.