One of the major potential benefits of robotic cardiac surgery is that restrictions after surgery are minimal compared to traditional sternotomy (breast plate division) surgery. I currently recommend no driving or working until off narcotic medication. This amount of time various greatly but is often between 1-2 weeks. After a standard sternotomy procedure, we usually advise patients no lifting, driving, or major physical activity for 6 weeks minimum to allow the bone that has been cut to heal.
It is very important to understand that the recovery period that patients need varies greatly depending on the patient, the procedure, whether complications occur, and the patient’s unique reaction to undergoing the procedure. However, in my experience, you best odds of a fast recovery after surgical mitral valve repair, would be a totally endoscopic robotic approach.
