High-tech alternative gives open-heart surgery patients new hope

Last fall, Bill Costello developed endocarditis, a serious heart infection, and was told he needed open-heart surgery to repair his faulty mitral valve. But, at 72 years old, Costello was worried about recovering from the procedure and made the decision to live, as best he could, with his condition.

Soon afterwards, the Palos Hills resident learned of a state-of-the-art alternative at Advocate Christ Medical Center. In October, Costello became the first person in Illinois to undergo robotic heart surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System. Because the surgery is performed through a single two-inch incision on the side, Costello’s recovery time was significantly shorter and his risk of infection lower than with traditional surgery.

“Without this option, I wouldn’t have had the surgery,” he says.

For someone as active as Costello, that would have meant a lot of lifestyle adjustments. Now 73, Costello works part time and golfs every chance he gets. It was on the golf course that Costello first noticed worrisome symptoms—shortness of breath and light-headedness.

Since the 1970s, Costello had lived with a condition known as mitral valve prolapse. In prolapse, the heart pumps but the valve doesn’t close properly, allowing some blood to leak backward into the left atrium. For most people, the condition is not serious and has no symptoms. However, if the leakage gets bad enough, or if an infection occurs (as in Costello’s case), symptoms can become severe and surgery may be necessary to repair or replace the valve.

Christ Medical Center is one of only 12 health care facilities, and the only one in Illinois, to participate in a national study of the effectiveness of robotically performed mitral-valve repair. Pat Pappas, M.D., the surgeon at the controls for Costello’s surgery, says the technique gives physicians greater precision and accuracy while patients experience a speedier and safer recovery because of the small incisions.

“A 72-year-old man who had his mitral valve repaired the standard way would be in the hospital for five to seven days and wouldn’t be able to drive for a month or two,” Dr. Pappas says. “Costello was up and walking around the hospital the day after the surgery.”