The procedure is considered very safe, but the trauma on the body can require weeks of recovery, as well as a large scar on the chest. This surgery also requires patients to be hospitalized at least 5 to 6 days after surgery. In sharp contrast, the robotic surgery does not require the patient's heart to be stopped and rather than a large cut, surgeons make four small incisions that are the diameter of a pencil. A 3-D camera goes in one incision so the surgeon can see his work and the robot's arms, which are controlled with handles by the surgeon, go in two other incisions. The robot frees a healthy chest artery and drags it down over the heart.
Surgeons manually sew the artery onto the heart through the fourth incision.
Amazingly, patients can leave the hospital as soon as 24 hours after surgery. One day in the near future and with the aid of computers, it will be possible for surgeons to be hundreds of miles away while performing this surgery. This surgical milestone will also compensate for a surgeon's human limitations. If a doctor were to experience tremors of the hand, these are eliminated by the computer.