Swedish Medical Center | Swedish Cares | Issue 1

Meet the new providers Bridget Beck, MD, general cardiology Chirag Chauhan, MD, interventional cardiology Jason Huang, MD, electrophysiology Sameer Mehta, MD, interventional cardiology Brad Nelson, MD, interventional cardiology Christopher Stees, DO, electrophysiology Vijay Subbarao, MD, general cardiology Michael Wahl, MD, interventional cardiology Robotic heart surgery: One benefit is a speedier recovery Swedish Medical Center is taking minimally invasive heart surgery to the next level. Expert cardiothoracic surgeon Sanjay Tripathi, MD, is using robotic assistance to perform many procedures that are most often done as open-heart surgical procedures. Swedish is the only hospital in Colorado to offer these advanced techniques. Robotic-assisted surgery—which is performed through small incisions instead of a large open one—can be used for some of the most advanced heart procedures. Among them: mitral heart valve repairs, maze surgery for atrial fibrillation, coronary artery bypass grafting and heart tumor surgery. The surgeon controls the system’s robotic arms from a console. The robot’s arms hold small instruments, which are highly maneuverable. This allows the doctor to perform precise surgery in tight spaces. In some cases, the robot’s wrist-like instruments may move more freely within a patient’s body than a human hand can. Some of the benefits of robotic- assisted surgery may include: ++ Less bleeding. ++ Less post-surgery pain. ++ A shorter hospital stay. ++ A quicker recovery. ➤ ➤ FIND US ONLINE at swedishhospital.com/robotics . swedishhospital.com 5