What is meant by minimally invasive or keyhole surgery?
Traditional surgery requires making a large (8- to 12-inch) incision and cutting through healthy tissues such as bone, cartilage, and muscle to access and repair the heart, valves and/or blood vessels. Keyhole surgery refers to techniques of performing surgery using small incisions (called keyhole incisions or ports) through which surgical instruments are inserted into the body. A tiny camera placed through another small incision can be used to project images from inside the body to a monitor or special TV screen. The surgeon performs the surgery by watching the monitor as he or she moves the instruments inside the patient. (This type of surgery is also called endoscopic surgery because specialized scopes are used.) Minimally invasive heart surgery, also called minimal access surgery, includes procedures done using a partial, or mini, sternotomy. This approach involves making a small incision (2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches) in the middle of the chest and dividing only a portion of the sternum
