Minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

Cardiac surgery has been the last of the surgical specialties to embrace the principles of minimal invasiveness. The complexity and invasiveness of the procedures have presented both a problem and an opportunity to make the procedures less invasive. Beginning with initial attempts at coronary artery bypass surgery through limited access with and without robotics, a number of other cardiac procedures currently are being performed by minimally invasive approaches. These include mitral valve repair, transapical aortic valve implant, limited access, and totally endoscopic pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and the treatment of aortic aneurysmal disease by thoracic endografting. The experience with less invasive surgery in other specialties has served as cross-fertilization for minimally invasive cardiac surgery.