Cardiac Surgery Greece

• Since 2007, Asklepios Kliniken GmbH has been a key strategic shareholder of Athens Medical Group, both sides collaborating on scientific and business matters and promoting the exchange of medical knowledge and management expertise.

In Greece, AMG runs 7 hospital units with a total number of 1,200 hospital beds, 2,800 highly qualified associate physicians, and 3,000 highly specialized full-time employees.

SURGERIES

Coronary artery bypass grafting

A coronary artery bypass is performed either with the assistance of the cardiopulmonary bypass (referred to as “on-pump beating or non beating heart surgery”) or without the assistance of the cardiopulmonary bypass (referred to as “off-pump” surgery). In most cases artery transplants are selected, but in certain cases artery and venous transplants are used. The aim of a coronary artery bypass is to achieve full revascularisation of the myocardium so as to not only extend the life of the patient but also fully relieve the patient from any symptoms of pain, in other words angina.

Heart valve surgeries

Tricuspid valve surgery
Usually, the surgery is performed with a plastic tricuspid valve either with special rings or with special sutures. In certain extraordinary cases, the valve is replaced. However, such a procedure is linked with a higher mortality rate and is considered as a last resort.

Aortic valve surgeries
Aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation. Usually, this is resolved by replacing the valve either with a biological valve or with a mechanical metal valve. In certain cases, aortic valve valvuloplasty may be performed. These procedures are performed either with a median sternotomy or with smaller incisions (minimally invasive surgery), depending on the patient’s needs.

Our team, in collaboration with a team of specialist cardiac surgeons, implants valves with the use of a catheter, in other words transdermal placement without surgery. This procedure, however, is recommended for patients with a high surgery risk.

Mitral valve surgeries

Mitral valve stenosis and regurgitation. The options that are available are valvuloplasty or replacement with a mechanical valve, in other words a metal or biological valve. The technique that is chosen depends on the patient.

Aortic diseases

These diseases refer to aneurysms and aortic dissections. A surgery is performed to replace the diseased part of the aorta, always with a different technique and gravity depending on the part of the aorta that is replaced.

Heart tumours

The most common type of heart tumour is the myxoma. The majority of myxomas originate from the left atrium and are usually removed surgically. We also frequently encounter an extracardiac mass-thymoma. These tumours are treated thoracoscopically, in other words without a median sternotomy.

Congenital heart diseases

The most common congenital heart diseases are atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD).

Reoperations

When a patient has undergone cardiac surgery and needs to be operated a second or third time. These surgeries are technically more difficult, with a higher mortality and morbidity rate. Our team performs a large number of revision surgeries with a very high success rate.

Atrial fibrillation surgeries

These surgeries are usually performed in conjunction with the correction of another heart valve. However, they can also be performed separately to free the patient from the arrhythmia and the risks that are associated with it.

Robotics expertise and routinely performs:

• Endoscopic cardiac surgical procedures. Through a few centimeters keyhole incision on the right side of the chest, without cutting the breastbone, and with the use of 3D HD endoscopes we treat diseases of the mitral valve, the tricuspid valve, we resect cardiac tumors (like myxomas) and close atrial septal defects.
• Robotic-assisted and hybrid coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Through a few centimeters keyhole incision on the left side of the chest, without cutting the breastbone, and with the use of a Robotic DaVinci console we can perform coronary artery bypass grafting procedures as a standalone or hybrid procedure with the combination of percutaneous coronary intervention (stents) on the same sitting.
• Aortic valve minimally invasive surgery. Through a few centimeters mini-sternotomy, without cutting the full length of the breastbone, we can perform aortic valve replacement.
• Transcatheter valve replacements. Without any incisions, for patients that fulfil the criteria, we perform transcatheter aortic and mitral valve procedures.