London cardiac surgery team perform world first operation

METRO LONDON

May 3, 2011

Dr. Bob Kiaii of the London Health Sciences Centre was part of a cardiac surgery team that successfully used a robot to repair a heart damaged by a pacemaker malfunction.

There’s been another world first at the London Health Sciences Centre.

Using the DaVinci robot, the cardiac surgery team successfully performed an emergency surgery to repair a hole in a patient’s heart caused by a pacemaker malfunction. Normally, this type of surgery would require open-heart surgery.

“This is a great example of the ongoing and proud tradition of medical firsts at LHSC,” said LHSC president and CEO, Bonnie Adamson.

On Feb. 15, Dr. Bob Kiaii received an emergency page — patient Viola Addison had a hole in her heart caused by a pacemaker malfunction that required immediate repair.

“The use of robotic surgery allows us to continually improve our surgery techniques and treat patients who are considered high risk for traditional surgery in a less invasive way,” said Kiaii.

“The robot gives me the manual dexterity needed to perform surgeries that require precision like this one.”

After a two-day stay at the hospital, Addison went home. She said the surgery was a “breeze.”

“I am not in any pain and I am no longer out of breath,” she said. “I don’t know where I would be without the surgery — it was something that had to be done.”