In
certain cases, heart center surgeons may offer a less
invasive
technique
to repair heart defects. Texas Children’s Heart Center is
one of the few centers in Texas that offers this approach for
pediatric heart surgery.
Being
a good candidate for this type of procedure depends on the
type and location of the child’s heart lesion, and whether
he or she has any other heart problems.
Although still considered open-heart surgery, the process,
used to repair atrial septal defects and other lesions,
yields less trauma and offers psychological and cosmetic
advantages.
“Repairing the defect inside the heart is the same whether
the surgeon’s approach is minimally invasive or standard,”
said
Dr. Jeffrey S. Heinle, associate surgeon at Texas
Children’s Heart Center.
Both
techniques use the heart-lung bypass machine, but with the
less invasive technique heart center surgeons repair the
defect through a smaller incision. As a result, the child
experiences less discomfort and is back to normal
activities sooner.
The
smaller incision is a plus for kids who may be
self-conscious, said Heinle.
“With standard surgery, the child would be left with a
6-inch scar that goes from the top of the breast bone to
below the bottom of the breast bone,” he said. “With the
minimally invasive approach, the scar measures only about
2½ inches and is just over the lower part of the bone. The
scar does not show when a child is wearing regular
clothing.”
Watch a
video about minimally invasive surgery.
