If you need heart surgery, you’re counting on the steady hand and gentle touch of your surgeon during your operation. Now, patients at Advocate Christ Medical Center are getting that and more, thanks to a breakthrough in robotic surgery.

Last October, Christ Medical Center surgeons performed the first heart surgery in Illinois using the da Vinci Surgical System, which doctors say can enhance patient safety, speed recovery, reduce scarring and infection, and limit health care costs to the patient. In a four-hour procedure, doctors successfully repaired the malfunctioning mitral valve of a 72-year-old man, who was discharged only four days later.

During the procedure, surgeons sat at a console about 10 feet from the operating table where they viewed three-dimensional images generated by a tiny camera inside the patient’s body. They used remote controls to guide surgical instruments placed inside the patient through several small incisions. The robotic technology communicates the surgeon’s natural hand movements—without the slight shakiness of the human hand—allowing for greater accuracy and precision.

The technique offers increased visibility and better range of motion than is available with laparascopy, which is commonly used in heart surgeries. “Robotic surgery has tremendous benefits,” says Pat Pappas, M.D., the console surgeon. “It gives surgeons the precision and visibility we need, with less pain and a shorter recovery time for our patients.”

Christ Medical Center was recently selected as one of only 12 health care facilities in the U.S., and the only site in Illinois, to participate in a national study of the effectiveness of the da Vinci Surgical System for repairing the heart’s mitral valve. The mitral valve is located between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. Defective valves fail to open or close completely and can lead to abnormal heart rhythms or heart failure.

In addition to Dr. Pappas, the physician team leading the ground-breaking procedure included Antone Tatooles, M.D., the patient-side surgeon, and Mark Slaughter, M.D., primary investigator for the robotic study. Christ Medical Center is the largest provider of cardiovascular services in northern Illinois and has one of the leading congestive heart failure programs in the country.

Dr. Slaughter says the procedure is good news for patients. “Invasive surgery may require several weeks of recuperation,” he explains. “With this system, a patient could feasibly be up and around in a matter of days. This has tremendous potential to improve surgery outcomes and quality of life for heart patients.”