Minimal access in cardiac surgery

Abstract

Over the past two decades, minimally invasive cardiac surgery has been adopted with the use of endoscopic methods in 1990s and advanced robotic surgery since the early 2000s. In parallel with technological developments, surgical experience has increased and several cardiac operations are able to be performed using different mini-incisions. In this review, we discuss approaches to minimally invasive cardiac surgery, incisions, technical details, and suggestions.