Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery

Minimally invasive heart surgery is an alternative procedure for regular coronary artery bypass surgery. Regular coronary artery bypass surgery involves first putting the patient on a heart and lung machine that takes over the body's function of keeping blood flowing throughout the body and breathing, allowing the cardiothoracic surgeon to perform the heart surgery. With minimally invasive heart surgery, the coronary artery bypass can be completed without using the heart-lung machine. This enables the heart to continue beating normally during the procedure, which puts less stress on the body and allows for faster patient recovery. Another reason minimally invasive heart surgery is becoming a more popular option for patients is because the incisions are smaller. Smaller incisions result in less scarring for the patient as well as a smaller risk of infection, less bleeding, less post-operative pain and a speedier recovery time after heart surgery. Some cardiothoracic surgeons also use robotic technology to perform the complex minimally invasive heart surgery through even smaller incisions since the robot gives the surgeon more precise control.

The California Center for Cardiothoracic Surgery is one of the Southern California pioneers in minimally invasive heart surgery. Located in Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, the California Center for Cardiothoracic Surgery is headed up by esteemed cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Mohammad Gharavi and Dr. Gholam Mohammadzadeh. Dr. Gharavi and Dr. Mohammadzadeh have decades of experience as leading Southern California cardiothoracic surgeons, and have performed thousands of successful minimally invasive heart surgeries. We welcome you to visit us at the California Center for Cardiothoracic Surgery to see if you are an eligible candidate for minimally invasive heart surgery.