▲ Professor Jae Suk Yoo is performing a totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery

Professor Jae Suk Yoo of the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery at Asan Medical Center recently performed Korea’s first 500^th totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

Totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery involves making a small incision of about 3-4 cm between the ribs to insert an endoscope equipped with a 3D camera. During surgery, the surgeon uses special glasses to view the 3D images transmitted by the camera, which allows for visual perception of distance and thickness within the body and enables transmission on a bright screen.

In 2017, using demonstration equipment, Professor Jae Suk Yoo first introduced 3D endoscopy for heart valve surgery in Korea. Professor v officially started performing totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery in January 2018, achieving 500 cases in 6 years and 3 months.

Except for cases covering large surgical sites, such as heart transplantation, most procedures, including valve surgery, heart tumor surgery, atrial septal defect surgery, and atrial fibrillation surgery, were operable with totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

Mitral valve repair, for which totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery was most frequently performed, displayed a success rate of 99%, which is comparable to conventional open surgery. Without the need to open or close the breastbone, anesthesia time was reduced by 30 to 40 minutes. Patients also recovered much faster and could return to their daily routines, even leisure activities, shortly after discharge.

Profressor Jae Suk Yoo stated, “Totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery minimizes the number of medical staff involved. It is also cheaper than robot-assisted heart surgery because you only need to add one endoscope with a 3D camera, making it a highly promising surgical method for the future.”

Meanwhile, Professor Jae Suk Yoo was recently registered as the first Korean member of the Endoscopic Cardiac Surgeons Club, centered in Europe, where minimally invasive cardiac surgery began, in recognition of achieving 500 cases of totally 3D endoscopic minimally invasive cardiac surgery and ongoing research contributions.