So you want to have heart surgery done robotically, now what?

First, you will have to come into the office to determine if your problem can be solved with robotic heart surgery techniques. If this is the case, we will schedule you for a few routine test and pick a date for surgery that fits your needs. If robotics is not appropriate for you, Dr. Guy performs and is experienced at doing almost all other types of cardiovascular surgeries of the chest. Robotic cardiac procedures typically last 3-4 hours and then you spend the night in the intensive care unit. If no complications occur, you will then spend 1-4 days (on average) on the floor and then be discharged home. The great advantage of robotic surgery is that many of the limitations you would have for 6 weeks after open surgery do not apply such as no driving or heavy lifting. You can usually drive after discontinuation of narcotic medication use. A few weeks after surgery, you will then visit again in the office and then see your cardiologist. If you live far away, special arrangements can be made to see you once before you leave town and then schedule a televideo visit (using skype) or telephone visit along with a visit to your local cardiologist. Return to work can be much earlier after robotics, as early as 2 weeks. However, every patient is different but these are the general expectations.