A revolution in heart surgery

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The world of cardiac care has come a long way since the first open-heart surgery, says Dr. Vincent Gott, professor of cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. As an intern at the University of Minnesota in March 1954, Dr. Gott witnessed one of the original groundbreaking procedures.

"One hundred years ago, doctors thought it would never happen," Dr. Gott says. "In late 1953, no one ever thought that open-heart surgery for complicated defects might be successfully accomplished."

Since his days as an intern, Dr. Gott has performed nearly 4,000 heart operations. He is excited about the ongoing developments in cardiology.

Gone are the days of simply solving most major heart problems by opening the patient's chest. Advancements continue to make surgery safer, while some research aims to eliminate invasive procedures.

Various cardiac operations can be performed by using a robotic arm without spreading the patient's ribs, says Dr. David Yuh, director of cardiac surgical research at Hopkins Hospital.

The robotic arm is run by a surgeon at a remote computer station. The computer transmits the surgeon's movements while reducing the tremors of human hands.

The technology is used for procedures such as repairing mitral valves, performing limited coronary bypass operations, closing atrial septal defects and placing pacemaker leads.

"You don't have to make a big cut to poke the robotic hands in there," Dr. Yuh says. "Because you're not making a large incision, you'll have quicker patient recovery."

Aside from robotic surgery, cellular regeneration therapy could change the future of cardiology, says Dr. Joshua Hare, director of the cardiovascular section of the Institute for Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Hare recently repaired pig hearts damaged by heart attacks. He injected stem cells from pig bone marrow into the damaged hearts. Within two months of the therapy, the pigs' heart function was completely normal.