For the first time in Austria’s Upper Austria state, a robot-assisted heart bypass surgery has been successfully performed at Kepler University Hospital in the city of Linz. Officials at the hospital announced on Thursday, August 6, that the procedure was successfully completed, noting that the operation was carried out on a beating heart without the need for a heart-lung machine.
The surgical team, led by Andreas Zierer, Head of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Kepler University Hospital, said the use of a surgical robot enhances precision and improves patient outcomes. He described the achievement as a significant milestone in the advancement of cardiac surgery.
According to the hospital, unlike conventional open-heart procedures, this technique does not require splitting the breastbone (sternum) or the use of a heart-lung bypass machine. Physicians say the approach reduces the risk of complications such as bone infections and blood clotting disorders while promoting faster recovery.
Hospital officials also stated that the technology could reduce patients’ hospital stays by nearly half. The robotic system is controlled by the surgeon through a console, enabling greater precision and dexterity inside the body compared with conventional laparoscopic techniques.
Under current European regulations, robot-assisted technology is presently approved only for coronary artery bypass surgery. However, once new systems receive regulatory approval, robotic heart valve surgery is also expected to become possible.
Andreas Zierer estimates that, in the long term, around half of the 1,600 cardiac surgeries performed annually in Upper Austria could be carried out using this technology. According to him, the innovation could play a major role in expanding the use of minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
At present, Kepler University Hospital has only one Da Vinci surgical robot, and its cardiac surgery department is able to use it only once a month. The purchase price of each system is estimated at between €2 million and €2.5 million.
Previously, robot-assisted heart bypass surgery in Austria had been performed only at Floridsdorf Clinic in Vienna. Kepler University Hospital in Linz has now become the country’s second medical center to offer this technology for coronary artery bypass surgery.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
