Robotic heart surgery begins at KTU Farabi Hospital; first patients come from Rize and Gümüşhane

Robotic heart and vascular surgery has begun at Karadeniz Technical University (KTU) Farabi Hospital. Two patients from Rize and Gümüşhane were the first to be operated on with the method.

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Coşkun Özdemir, a faculty member in the KTU Faculty of Medicine's Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, said two operations were carried out during the week with the method recently introduced at the hospital. Noting that one of robotic surgery's key advantages is minimizing surgical trauma, he said areas that are hard to see in open surgery can be viewed more closely. He added that the method is used only at KTU Farabi Hospital in the Black Sea Region, so patients also come from other provinces.

Recovery gets shorter

Özdemir said that in open heart surgery, cutting the breastbone leaves patients with restrictions on daily activities such as lying on their side and driving for a while. He said robotic and minimally invasive methods can reduce these restrictions.

The aim here is to reduce the pain and aches the patient suffers because of the incision. After the breastbone is cut, we do not want the patient to lie on their side or drive for 1.5 to 2 months. We can eliminate such situations. The hospital stay is shorter. A patient who has had a bypass with minimally invasive and robotic surgery can leave here driving their own car. After going home, or right after leaving intensive care, they can turn and lie on their side in bed. The patient can return to work in a short time, such as a week or 10 days.

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Coşkun Özdemir

Özdemir also said the operations are performed by an experienced team led by Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali Yürük.

Patients describe the process

Saadet Kiraz, 37, was diagnosed with a hole in her heart in Rize eight months ago. She was treated for a while at Trabzon University Faculty of Medicine Ahi Evren Chest, Heart and Vascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, then referred to KTU Farabi Hospital for surgery. Kiraz said the hole in her heart was closed with robotic surgery, that her recovery went well and that her pain subsided after she was moved to the ward.

Arif Okur, 60, from Gümüşhane, underwent bypass surgery with the robotic method because three of his vessels were blocked, and said his vessels were opened.