Anesthetic Management for Robotic Cardiac Surgery

Abstract

Traditional cardiac surgery is performed via median sternotomy to access the mediastinum and coronary structures. Recently, the use of minimally invasive cardiac surgery（MICS）via right mini-thoracotomy has become widespread. Furthermore, robotic-assisted cardiac surgery, which uses the da Vinci surgical system, has been performed. We herein summarize anesthetic management for robotic-assisted mitral valve plasticity and atrial septal defect closure.

After the induction of anesthesia, the venous cannula was cannulated through the right internal jugular vein. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography（TEE）is important for guiding the cannula to the right positon. Moreover, anesthesiologists must evaluate myocardial function and mitral valve findings and atrial septal defect before and after the surgical procedure. One-lung ventilation is required to produce ports for the robotic arms. If hypoxemia occurs before beginning the robotic procedure, then bilateral lung ventilation is needed.

As robotic cardiac surgery is a completely endoscopic mitral valve surgery, anesthesiologists must understand the details of the surgical procedure and the findings of the TEE examination.