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Robotic cardiac surgery marks a significant leap forward in the treatment of complex heart diseases. With smaller incisions, high precision, less surgical trauma and faster recovery, it offers patients a modern, minimally invasive therapeutic option, always keeping the experience, expertise and judgment of the cardiac surgeon at the center.

At the Inter-Balkan Medical Center of Thessaloniki, the cardiac surgery team of Dr. Antonios Pitsis performed the first robotic cardiac surgeries in Greece with the da Vinci robotic system, with complete success. These surgeries are even applied in cases of three-vessel disease, i.e. in double or triple bypass, depending on the needs of the heart and the extent of the problem in the coronary arteries. At the same time, there is already significant experience in valve surgeries with robotic systems.

Advantages of Robotic Cardiac Surgery

A key advantage of robotic cardiac surgery is its exceptional precision. Through the Da Vinci robotic system, the surgeon has the ability to view tissues with up to tenfold magnification, which ensures better visibility and greater detail during the operation. The robotic arms transfer the surgeon’s movements with high precision, allowing extremely fine manipulations in a particularly complex and sensitive surgical field.

Without opening the sternum

At the same time, it is particularly important that the operation is performed without opening the sternum. Instead of the classic sternotomy, access is made through small holes, through which the robotic arms operate. This practically means less surgical trauma, faster recovery, shorter hospital stay and a faster return of the patient to their daily lives.

According to our team’s experience, a patient undergoing robotic bypass can usually stay in the hospital for about three to four days. Return to work can, on average, be done in ten days to two weeks, a time significantly shorter than with the classic surgical approach, where full recovery after a sternotomy can require about two months.

The surgeon’s role remains decisive

Despite the high technology, it is important to clarify that the robotic system does not operate autonomously. It is a remote-controlled system, which operates exclusively under the full control of the specialized surgeon.

The robot does not make decisions and does not perform the operation on its own. The doctor’s role remains decisive at every stage, from planning to performing the operation.

Thessaloniki as an international reference point

Thessaloniki and the Inter-Balkan Medical Center are now a reference point for endoscopic and robotic cardiac surgery, not only in Greece but also internationally. Our team has trained hundreds of surgeons from Europe and around the world in endoscopic and robotic cardiac surgeries. Indicatively, more than a hundred surgeons have been trained from Poland alone in the last two to three years.

This international recognition is also confirmed by the fact that the World Congress of Endoscopic and Robotic Cardiac Surgery will return to Thessaloniki in 2027, for the third time in its history. The Congress will be held at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall and will include ten live broadcasts of robotic and endoscopic surgeries.