MountainView Hospital performs first robotic heart surgery
MountainView Hospital announced that its surgeons have performed the first robotic heart surgery on a patient at MountainView. The minimally-invasive approach allowed the young patient, in their 40s, to return to full activity faster than the traditional open-heart surgical approach.
The procedure was recently performed by Drs. Paul Mazur and Arnold Chung, cardiothoracic surgeons at MountainView’s Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Associates practice. A full team of highly-skilled and qualified CVT surgical nurses and techs assisted in this first-at-MountainView case.
Dr. Mazur is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in cardiac valve repair and replacement. He also is specially-trained in minimally invasive approaches and is a leader in robotic surgery.
Dr. Chung is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive surgical approaches. He is a fellowship-trained and robotic-trained thoracic surgeon in Las Vegas.
The patient was treated for single vessel left anterior descending artery disease (LAD) that was not amenable to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or a stent to relieve the narrowing of the artery.
The left anterior descending artery is the largest coronary artery that branches from the left main coronary artery, which carries oxygenated blood to the left side of your heart. Plaque can build up inside this artery, causing artery disease. A complete blockage in the left anterior descending artery can be deadly and can cause what is often called a “widow maker” heart attack.
The patient’s care team thought the patient would benefit from surgical revascularization, a procedure that restores blood flow in blocked arteries or veins. To do this, they performed a left internal mammary artery (LIMA) procedure via a robotic-assisted approach. This is a graft that bypasses the blockage in the left anterior descending artery. In this procedure, the LIMA is freed from the chest wall and stitched to the opening of the coronary artery beyond the blockage to bypass the obstruction.
“This approach has shown demonstrated beneficial results for patients,” said Dr. Mazur. “A less invasive approach allows patients a shorter recovery time and the opportunity to return to full activities much more quickly.”
The patient was discharged to rehabilitation shortly after the surgery and is recovering well.
“This is yet another example of MountainView surgeons and physicians bringing innovative procedures to our hospital to benefit our patients,” said Hiral Patel, MountainView Hospital chief executive officer. “This complicated, highly technical surgery is a testament to the expertise and quality care our teams deliver.”
MountainView Hospital is a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery, an accreditation earned in 2023 from the accrediting organization SRC. Status as an accredited Center of Excellence means that MountainView has met nationally and internationally recognized standards. Not all hospitals and surgeons seek accreditation; not all that undergo the rigorous inspection process are granted accreditation.
MountainView Hospital has been the leader in robotic surgery since 2011, when the Las Vegas Institute for Robotic Surgery was launched. Since that time, the program has grown to the largest in southern Nevada, with six robots and is the pioneer for many advanced robotic procedures.